Naruto's Betrayal
by Anime-baka
Summary: Naruto has finally got Sasuke back. But now he feels like no one cares about him and leaves Konoha. What danger lies ahead for Naruto? The last three chapters are up!
1. Anger Explodes

It was a nice sunny morning in Konoha. Naruto was heading towards Training Ground # 8 to meet the rest of Team 7. It might've toke three years, but Naruto was finally able to get Sasuke back. It was a very long battle-- at least and hour or so. But finally Naruto was able to get him back. When Sasuke woke up in the hospital the next day he decided reluctantly that he'd stay. It's been two weeks since then. Team 7 is now just regular Team 7. Back to there same wild ambitions.

Naruto had just got to Training Ground # 8 at 7:30 a.m. "Good morning Sakura-chan!" he yelled as he came into view. Sakura wasn't really paying attention and she started off on the wrong foot. For starters, she woke up at 6:45 a.m. instead of 6:00 a.m. Then she spilled water on her clothes **twice** and she had to change three times. It was amazing that she actually got there before Naruto. "... So Kakashi-sensei's late again?'' Naruto asked. "Hmm? Oh yeah, he is." Sakura said finally paying some attention to him. Sasuke on the other hand was just standing there in his I-don't-care stance. "Oh, hey Sasuke," Naruto said to him.

Sasuke didn't reply."So anyway Sakura-chan, I wanted to tell you this really funny thing that happen to me at Ichiraku ramen yesterday..." Naruto said but Sakura was ignoring him. She was to busy thinking about Sasuke-- as usually. _Sasuke looks so nice today. He's become a very good ninja. I know one of these days Sasuke's gonna go out with me! And that day, will be very soon!_ Sakura thought. But she started to get annoyed/angered when Naruto's words got into her thoughts. "So then I said to Iruka-sensei," Naruto continued. "NARUTO! SHUT-UP! DON'T ASK ME TO GO OUT WITH YOU BECAUSE YOU KNOW I'LL SAY NO! YOU'RE ALWAYS GETTING BETWEEN ME AND MY LOVE LIFE! YOU'RE AN ANNOYING PEST! QUIT BOTHERING ME!" Sakura yelled in a sudden outburst. Naruto stood there, shocked. Sakura had never yelled at him like _that_.

"I'm sorry..." Naruto said softly then sat down on the other side of the bridge."No Naruto, I'm sorry. You see, this morning I," Sakura said but Naruto cut her off by saying "No, it's alright. I'm the one in your way..." 45 minutes past and suddenly a poof-cloud appeared. "Good morning team!" Kakashi said. "Say, I beat my last record by an hour! Only 45 minutes late," he added. "Anyway, we're doing no missions today. Just practice. Sakura, I want you to do 10 laps, 50 push-ups and 45 chin-ups; so you'll build up stamina." Kakashi commanded her. "Only 10, 45 and 50?" Sakura said in a surprised tone. After all, she was studying under Tsunade for the time when Sasuke was gone. "Naruto, you can go and control your chakra. Climb a few trees and perhaps afterwards meditate. Sasuke, come with me, I'm teaching you a new move." Kakashi finished.

"What!" Naruto yelled. "Why does HE get to learn a new technique?" he added."Naruto, calm down," Sakura said. "No way!" he snapped back at her. "Listen Naruto, in your current state your chakra is too low. Even if I wanted to teach you this new jutsu you couldn't," Kakashi informed him. "Is that the best excuse you can come up with?" Naruto shouted. "What did you say?" Kakashi said angrily. "Naruto," Sakura said while putting her hand on his shoulder. "Get your hands off me!" Naruto said and shook her hand away. "There's no reason to act this way," Kakashi told him. Naruto lost it.

"THERE SURE AS HELL IS! IT'S ALWAYS ABOUT SASUKE! I'M THE ONE THAT GOT THAT BASTARD BACK IN KONOHA! WITHOUT ME, HE WOULDN'T BE HERE!" He shouted. "Naruto, please calm down!" Sakura pleaded. "I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT FROM YOU MISS MEDIC NIN! YOU _ALWAYS _CARE ABOUT SASUKE! NEVER A THANK-YOU FOR ME! THE DAY I CAME BACK WITH SASUKE YOU CAME RUSHING OVER AND SAID 'Thank goodness! You got Sasuke back! We need to treat his wounds quickly. At least his not too harmed'! YOU DIDN'T EVEN GIVE A DAMN ABOUT ME!"_Naruto..._ Sakura thought in a guilty way. "And you!" Naruto said pointing a finger at Kakashi. "YOU always wanted to train Sasuke! Sasuke, I'll teach you this. Sasuke I'll teach you that! You want to learn a new move Sasuke? WANNA GO OUT FOR SOME ICE-CREAM SASUKE! You never had time to train me! What kind of sensei are you, picking out favorites!" Naruto screamed. "Now wait just a minute Naruto..." Kakashi tried to say but couldn't say the rest. "NO! I'M TIRED OF YOU, FOREHEAD AND MR.MOODY GUY! I'M SICK OF THIS TEAM! I'M SICK OF KONOHA!" Naruto said enraged.

He was so angry that red chakra-- the Kyuubi chakra-- was showing. Before he knew it, he was rushing through the forest leaving his teammates and sensei behind. "NARUTO!" Sakura said. "No, Sakura, stay here. Naruto needs to confront this on his own," Sasuke said to her. "But... he," Sakura started but didn't finish seeing that Sasuke was probably right. "Sasuke's right..." Kakashi said looking down at the ground feeling guilty.

_ In the forest:_ "Err! They're ungrateful! They're ALL ungrateful!" Naruto said aloud bitterly. "All those times I helped Kakashi, all those missions I saved Sakura, and when I finally bring Sasuke back, DOES ANYONE THANK ME!" Naruto said with more chakra leaking out of him. "Those damn bastards! I hate them all!" Naruto yelled then notice he was coming into view of Konoha. Naruto stopped a few feet away from the Konoha Gates. He slowed down and bent over. He was breathing hard. Naruto closed his eyes, counted to 10, and then opened them again. The red chakra was slowly disappearing, slowly but surely. "Look! It's the demon!" yelled a man in his 40s. Naruto turned around and quickly noticed it was Sakura's father Haruno Dashi. "He's letting Kyuubi out!" yelled a woman who appeared 32. "I knew we should've killed the little bastard as soon as Kyuubi got sealed in him!" another woman-- 38 years old-- yelled. "KILL THE DEMON!" a man who was 60 yelled. Then three kunai knives got thrown at Naruto.

They all missed. Naruto knew that if he stayed there he'd get angrier and soon hurt somebody, or worse... Again, before he knew it, he was running. Running towards his apartment. That's all he could think about. Getting to his apartment. Naruto ignored all the people who were yelling at him. "Hey boss! What's the hurry?" Konohamaru yelled. Naruto didn't even notice him or his teammates-- Udon and Moegi-- or his sensei-- Ebisu. _His chakra... could it be?_ Ebisu thought. "What was that red-chakra coming out of Naruto Udon?" Moegi asked. Both him and Konohamaru shrugged. Finally, Naruto was at his apartment.


	2. The Decision

Naruto was standing in front of his door. _Finally_... he thought. Before he opened the door, Naruto felt a sharp pain in his stomach. Naruto groaned out of pain. _What's… what's happening to me…?_ Naruto thought. Suddenly, the pain stopped. "Weird…" Naruto whispered. He quickly opened his apartment door, slammed it behind him, and then locked it. Naruto quickly closed all the curtains making it seem as if it was night time.

Then Naruto laid face down on his bed._ Why… why does this always happen to me…? _Naruto thought and a tear rolled down his cheek. He sat up and then pulled a kunai out of his shuriken hoister. "Maybe… maybe I should…" Naruto said softly then held the kunai knife up to his neck. Before he could do anything Naruto heard a knock on his door.

He put the knife down and ran over to the door. "Who is it?" Naruto asked hoping it wasn't any villagers. "Naruto, it's me, Iruka." Iruka said calmly. Naruto cracked open the door and said "What do you want?" "Well… I saw you in town before around an angry group of people… Are you alright?" Iruka asked in a concerned voice. "I'm fine," Naruto said coldly. "Are you…" Iruka started but Naruto cut him off by saying 'I'm fine' again.

Then he slammed the door. _Okay… but if you need anything Naruto, I'm here. After all, you're like a son to me._ Iruka thought then left. Naruto looked at the kunai he left on the bed. "No… suicide isn't the answer." Naruto told himself. "I have to get out of here… leave Konoha… for good.

_In the forest:_ "You think he's alright?" Sakura asked Sasuke after doing her 110th chin-up. "Don't worry. I'm sure he's just trying to calm himself down now," Sasuke said while controlling his chakra with one foot in the water. Kakashi was near the bridge.

Surprisingly, he wasn't reading his dirty book. Instead, he was thinking about Naruto. _Maybe… maybe Naruto was right… _Kakashi thought in a guilty way. "Kakashi-sensei," he heard someone call and looked up. "Yes Sakura-chan?" he said. "I'm… I'm worried, about Naruto," Sakura said softly.

"Well, it's almost quarter to one, so let's head back to the village," Kakashi said while looking at his watch.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura yelled. "We're heading back to Konoha now!" Sasuke got out of the water and followed his team back to Konoha.

_Naruto's Apartment:_ "Well, that's everything." Naruto said looking at his backpack. He was really leaving Konoha and only packed the essential things. Before he left, Naruto unlocked his apartment door and placed the keys on his bed. Before he jumped out the window, he looked around.

_This apartment… the one I grew up in for 15 years… until now... _Naruto thought then jumped out the window and headed towards the Konoha Gates.

Naruto was a few feet in front of the gates. "This is good-bye…" Naruto said softly. "Naruto-kun," he heard someone say and turned around to see that it was Hinata. "Are you, going on a mission?" she asked. "Yeah… it's sorta an A-ranked mission; I don't know when I'll be back." Naruto lied. "Well… be careful! And good luck!" Hinata said to him. After that, Naruto wrapped his arms around Hinata's neck. "N… Na… Naruto-kun…?" Hinata said starting to turn red. "Good-bye… and thank-you," Naruto said and then walked away. Even though Hinata was enjoying the hug, she couldn't help but feel worry about Naruto.

_Tsunade's Office: _Tsunade was listening to a Jounin's story about his last mission. Actually, she wasn't listening; instead she was thinking of what it was like when she was younger. When her brother and boyfriend were still alive…Then she felt a strange pulse._ What…? Was that Naruto…? _She thought worriedly. "That's why the scroll was nearly torn, just incase you were wondering," the Jounin added. Then he put the report on Tsunade's desk and left.

_Was he still talking?_ Tsunade thought. "Tsunade-sama, you were listening right," Shizune asked seeing that she was the more responsible one. "Yeah, of course I was!" Tsunade shouted. Then they heard a knock on the door. "Come in," Shizune called. It was Hinata. "Hello? Tsunade-sama? I wanted to ask you something," Hinata said as she walked in. "Shoot for it," Tsunade said.

"Well, I was wondering… what A-ranked mission did you send Naruto on?" Hinata asked. _Mission? Naruto?_ Shizune thought. "But Hinata-chan, I didn't send Naruto on any A-ranked mission!" Tsunade said aloud then noticed she was standing up. "So you mean… Naruto-kun… IS GONE!" Hinata yelled.


	3. Surprise Attack

Tears rolled down Hinata's eyes. Then all the sudden, Iruka came busting in. "I'm sorry for intruding like this Tsunade-sama but this is very important! It's about Naruto. I went to check on him but he said he was fine, I was feeling a bit doubtful so I went back. I knocked on his door and there was no answer. I did it again and there was still no answer. His door was unlocked and when I went in Naruto had left!" Iruka shouted. "So it is true!" Hinata sobbed and cried even more.

"It'll be okay Hinata," Iruka said to her while she cried on his shoulder. "This is bad," Shizune said while staring in disbelief. "Shizune! Send out an ANBU team to go after Naruto. Don't worry Hinata and Iruka, we'll get him back!" Tsunade assured. And with that, Shizune was off.

Team 7 was coming into view of Konoha when they noticed the squad of five ANBU nins. "Wait a moment!" the ANBU Captain yelled to Kakashi. "Yes?" Kakashi replied. "You're the sensei of Uzumaki, Naruto-san correct?" he questioned. "Yes, I am." Kakashi replied with a feeling that something was wrong with Naruto.

"I'll need to talk with you in private for a moment," the ANBU captain said. "Sakura, Sasuke, stay here." he motioned to them. Kakashi came back to Sasuke and Sakura saying that something bad happened to Naruto and Tsunade wanted to see them right away. Team 7 hurried to Tsunade's office.

_Tsunade's Office: _"Lord Hokage," Kakashi said and walked in with the rest of his squad. They noticed that Hinata and Iruka were there. "Glad you could make it. We have some bad news; we think Naruto has left the village." Tsunade told them. Kakashi already knew but it was a surprise to his students. That made Sasuke think; when he was 12 and left Konoha in search of power... "We aren't sure why Naruto left but once the ANBU squad comes back we might be able to ask why. Until then, do a search of the town. Even though we have two witnesses of Naruto leaving we aren't sure if it was just a Shadow Clone." Tsunade told them.

Team 7-- along with Hinata and Iruka-- searched the town. Sakura and Hinata stopped to ask people if they'd seen Naruto. Kakashi and Iruka searched downtown Konoha while Sasuke searched uptown. They met near a store before Ichiraku Ramen. "We can't find him..." Hinata said. "Looks like he really is gone." Sakura said in a depressed tone. "Well, now it's up to the ANBU to get him." Iruka stated.

_Somewhere in the forest:_ Naruto was at least between two and three miles away from Konoha and decided to take a rest on a large tree. Naruto laid down on his backpack and looked at a picture he took out. It was him, Shikamaru, Kiba, Neji and Chouji when they were 12 and 13. He started to remember when they were younger, and use to hang out. Not only did they hang out with Naruto but so did Lee and Shino.

_Some memories… _Naruto thought. But then he heard a sound; a sound like ninjas! Naruto stood up and put his backpack on. "Man! I wasn't even able to discuss what village I wanted to go to!" Naruto yelled then ran off. The five ANBU ninjas were now standing in the spot Naruto had been in. "Look," one of them said as he picked up an item that Naruto left. He left the picture of him and his friends.

_Back in Konoha: _"Don't worry Hinata-chan," Tenten said to her trying to calm her down. Hinata, Tenten, Sakura, and Ino were I'll in a field around Konoha looking up at the sky. "Yeah, I'm sure they'll bring him back unharmed." Sakura assured. "That's what they all said when Shikamaru and his team went after Sasuke for the first time." Hinata replied coldly. Then they all just sat there in silence. "Hinata… they'll get Naruto back… and it won't take three years this time!" Sakura said while standing up

"So Naruto actually left!" Lee said replying to what Sasuke had told them. "This is bad…" Neji told them. "They sent someone after him, right?" Shikamaru asked. "Yeah. They sent an ANBU team an hour ago." Sasuke told them. "You think they'll catch him?" Chouji asked Sasuke. "Like all ANBU ninjas, they're specially trained to catch people. So they should have no trouble catching him." Sasuke informed. "Then we shouldn't worry too much and have faith in our fellow comrades," Shino replied.

_Back in the forest: _"Damn it! There catching up! And my chakra is still leaking out for some reason AND I DON'T KNOW WHY!" Naruto yelled as he ran from tree to tree. _I could always trick them by making Shadow Clones and scattering everywhere at once while the real me gets away _Naruto thought. _But will it work? Could they tell the real one? It's going to get risky!_

Naruto was no longer running through a forest, he was now in a field of flowers which looked pretty when the sun reflected it. "Nine-tailed fox!" an ANBU officer yelled. All five of them stopped eight yards behind Naruto. _Nine-tailed fox… Demon… Monster… Freak… Beast… _those thoughts ran through Naruto's mind making him angrier and angrier. "You know what?" Naruto said to them. "My dream was to become Hokage… the greatest of them all… So I would be respected… but does any of that happen? NO!"

Naruto eyes were not changing from blue and purple anymore and they were now completely red. The three lines on his cheeks grew thicker and his nails grew longer. His teeth were as sharp as a _fox_. "Sometimes, I wanted something more then becoming Hokage… a family…" Naruto said softly but enough to make the ANBU hear. "BUT I COULD NEVER HAVE ONE! I DIDN'T EVEN HAVE FRIENDS!" Naruto screamed and a tear rolled down his eyes.

He wiped the tear and began to speak again. "But I couldn't have that either…" Naruto added with a strange, evil-like grin on his face. "So now I want something even more… more then respect, friends, family and the position of a Hokage… _revenge_." Naruto yelled then started to chuckle in an evil way.

"If you thought I was a monster then, I'll show you what a real monster is! When I'm finished with you idiots it'll seem like Kyuubi was the human!" Naruto added then charged at them. "PAY-BACK TIME!" he yelled angrily.


	4. Tekirai and Subaru

Naruto charged at the five ninja that stood before him. The first one, he upper-cutted him 16 feet in the air and then punched him straight in the stomach. The ANBU nin came crashing into the ground making a small crater. _One down, four to go... _Still in mid-air, two other ANBUs lunged at Naruto. Naruto round-house kicked one in the face making him go back eight yards from where he originally was and the other ANBU Naruto punched him in the face down towards the ground and he landed on the one in the crater.

_Two more down, two more to go... _Naruto finally landed on the ground without a mark on him. He still had the same evil grin on his face. "And you called me pathetic!" Naruto yelled while taking three kunai knives out of his waist pack thus cutting the remaining ninja. All you could here were their screams of terror and pain. "I'm not finished!" Naruto exclaimed to all five of them. He started to use them as punching and kicking bags. They all flew across the field. "Please..." one of them said. "No more..." another one added.

"We can't take it!" the captain yelled. "What do you want? Will do anything! ANYTHING!" an ANBU ninja yelled. "I _wanted_ respect... But since I can't have that I've chosen the second R word! REVENGE!" Naruto screamed. "Now to continue doing physically what you people have been doing to me physically _and _mentally," Naruto smirked. "But before that, beg. _Beg like little whimpering dogs! NOW_!" he commanded. They were already on the ground begging for mercy.

"Hehehe... look how worthless you all look! Now to put you out of your misery!" Naruto said while taking one of the katanas an ANBU had. "Naruto! Stop!" yelled a girls' voice. Naruto turned around. He saw two girls; one had _very_ light blonde hair and was wearing a black short-sleeved shirt over a purple long-sleeved shirt. Her skirt was black with a purple line across it. She had dark blue eyes as well. Her shuriken hoister was on her left thigh and she had a waist pack as well. The only thing that stuck out on her was that she had _cat_ ears on top of her head instead of human ears at the side of her head.

The other one had an aqua-green colored hair. Her eyes were dark green. She was wearing a baby-blue sleeve-less shirt over a light green short-sleeved shirt. Unlike the other girl, she wore white short-shorts. Nothing stuck out on her except that her shuriken hoister was on both of her thighs and she had no waist pack. Naruto couldn't tell what village they were from but they both had black bandanas tied to the side of their heads.

"Who are you to tell me what to do?" Naruto yelled at them as he turned away from the ANBU nins. "You ready Subaru?" one of the girls asked the other. "You know it Tekirai!" the other girl yelled back. They both came running towards Naruto then Naruto got into a fighting stance. Surprisingly they jumped over Naruto. "Nighty-night ANBUs!" one of the girls yelled as they both threw sleeping-powder bombs at them. "What the...? Who are...?" Naruto said but then realized he was being carried by the aqua-green haired girl. "HEY! PUT ME DOWN!" Naruto screamed. "Don't worry, cousin Naruto!" she said as they all ran through the upcoming forest. "Cousin?" Naruto said aloud.

_Jounin Lounge:_ "I feel so bad..." Kakashi said gloomily. "It isn't all you fault Kakashi." Asuma told him. "Knowing Naruto he'll probably come back." Kurenai assured. "Sure he will," Gai said in an almost sarcastic tone. "Kakashi, your students would stand a chance against mine if they were_ disciplined_ the right way. Sasuke, you would have to keep and eye on him. Sakura, you'll need to teach her how to help her other teammate instead of always helping Sasuke especially when he doesn't need it. And Naruto..." Gai couldn't finish because Kakashi suddenly snapped at him.

"GAI! _YOU_ NEED TO LEARN WHEN TO SHUT THE HELL UP! WORRY ABOUT YOUR STUDENTS INSTEAD OF MINE! YOU SHOULD REALLY END THIS IDIOT-OF-A-RIVALRY RIGHT NOW!" Kakashi yelled in an outburst. _Silence_. Kakashi sighed. "I'm sorry, Gai. It's just that I..." Kakashi started to say but couldn't find the right words. "No, Kakashi, it's probably my fault. I'm the one who needs to say sorry. _Silence, again... _Kakashi looked at the clock. It was nearly four o'clock. _We sent the ANBU team about three hours ago... They should've got Naruto back by now. _Kakashi thought then left the room.

_Tsunade's Office: _Tsunade was pacing back and fourth. "Maybe we should send out some of the Inuzuka's dogs to trace Naruto..." Tsunade said. "We shouldn't worry too much. They could still be chasing after him." Shizune suggested. "Yeah, you're right... but if they're not back within two more hours will send another team out." Tsunade replied.

_Back in the forest:_ The two girls and Naruto stopped. "Hey! You can put me down now!" Naruto yelled. "Oh, sorry! It's just that, you're so light!" the girl carrying Naruto said. "Can you tell me what's going on now?" Naruto asked as all three of them sat down on a tree. "Well, as you heard us yell before, I'm Tekirai..." started the blonde-haired girl "...and that's Subaru." Tekirai added as she pointed to her teammate. "I'm 16 and she's 17." Tekirai told him. "Oh, okay. Well I'm..." Naruto started but Subaru cut him off by saying "We know, cousin. You're Uzumaki Naruto.

"So... you two are really my cousins?" Naruto asked with a smile spreading on his face. "No, not really..." Subaru told him. Naruto's expression turned sad. "Then why did you..." Naruto started but AGAIN he got cut off. "We just call each other _cousin_, _sister_, or _brother_ because we all have one major thing in common." Tekirai stated. "We all have bijus." she added. "You mean... you two also have demons sealed inside you?" Naruto yelled excitedly for some reason. They both nodded. "Yes. I have the two-tailed cat demon Nibi. Subaru has the seven-tailed badger demon Shichibi." Tekirai informed him.

"Our other friend, Inumoka, has the five-tailed dog demon Gobi. He's back at our base though." Subaru told them. "Naruto-kun, we came to find you. We want you to join us. We are called, The Biju 9." Tekirai said.

"What else is there to The Biju 9?" Naruto asked. "Well… it was an idea of me and Subaru's about five years ago." Tekirai informed him.

_FLASHBACK_

_Tekirai 11, Subaru 12. "This is so cool! We've been Kunoichis for a year!" Subaru yelled. "And to think I just moved to this Hidden Stone Village three years prior to that…" Tekirai replied. "Don't worry! Remember, we're on the same team! Don't forget the promise we made; no matter what happens we'd always be friends and look after each other." Subaru restated._

_"Subaru… you're like my only friend… People started to ignore me the month after my brother died. They were just being nice because he was around…" Tekirai told her. "When I found someone like me, someone with no family or friends, I know I wouldn't be alone for long. And I wasn't." she added feeling better. "Yeah… I never knew my mother and when Shichibi was sealed inside me…" Subaru said but her voice trailed off._

_The same fate that happen to the Fourth Hokage happened to Subaru's elite ninja father who sealed Shichibi inside her. The villagers hated her and thought it was her fault for her father's death. Just like Tekirai, Subaru was alone for some time… "Subaru…" Tekirai started. "Hmm?" she replied. "We're ninja now, and since we are we can't think of the past. We must focus on our futures together!" Tekirai added with authority._

_I few nights later something bad happened. Tekirai was walking home from practice by herself. "I shouldn't have stayed so late… It's almost quarter to eight!" she said and ran faster. She ran past a store that was just getting robbed. The robber got away, and surprisingly his clothes were nearly the same as Tekirai's! The store merchant ran out of the store with an angry look on his face._

_He then glared at Tekirai. "You!" he yelled. "You stole my merchandise!" "But, I was just passing by! Honestly!" Tekirai pleaded. "Yeah right! I knew a little demon like you would commit such a crime!" he snapped back at her. For the next eight minutes, he brutally beat her. Tekirai was crying the whole incident._

_She knew since he was a civilian she couldn't do anything to fight back unless it was really necessary. Tekirai dragged herself home, passing Subaru's house. Subaru looked out her window. 'Tekirai…!' she thought and then silently followed her. She was worried about her friend, noticing how bloody she was and all her scars, bumps and bruises and even some of her clothes were torn._

_Tekirai fell to her knees and sat before a river. "What good am I in this town if I'm not even respected or cared for…? I always get falsely punished! I should just…" Tekirai started as she tied her right foot to a large rock and pushed it into the rushing river. 'Maybe… I'll be better off in the next world…' she thought as she closed her eyes and waited for death._

_"TEKIRAI!" Subaru yelled as she jumped in the water to save her friend. She swam down towards the bottom of the river where the rock was. 'SUBARU!' Tekirai thought. Subaru took a kunai out of her shuriken hoister and cut the rope that connected Tekirai and the rock. Then she swam up to Tekirai and helped her back to the surface and helped her to the shore. Both her and Subaru were shaking with coldness. Tekirai was coughing. "T… Te… Tekirai… WHAT WERE YOU TH… THINK…ING!" Subaru yelled._

_"Everyone hates me in this town… They'd be better off with out me…" she replied. "I don't…" Subaru said softly. "We have each other, thick and thin. If you ever try to commit suicide I'll stop you! You're… you're… like my sister." Subaru said and hugged Tekirai. "Thank… you Subaru," Tekirai said as a tear of joy ran down her eyes. The next day: "I was thinking…" Subaru said to Tekirai. "Do you think there's a home for us?" "What do you mean?" Tekirai asked feeling a little dumb-founded._

_"Well, places for people like you and me. Where we can leave in peace without being hated by villagers." Subaru said then lay down in the field. "Well…" Tekirai started then lay down beside her "…there should be. We shouldn't be treated like demons; we should be treated like people!" "There are only nine of us…" Subaru told her friend. "Then let's go find the other seven!" Tekirai exclaimed and was now standing up. "What do you mean? Go and find the others?" Subaru said. "Yeah! Why not? We could be like nine brothers and sisters! Together we would always have someone to count on. And they can count on us, too!" Tekirai shouted. "I like it!" Subaru exclaimed._

_The next day Subaru and Tekirai left their town in search for the other Bijus. Even though the journey was long and dangerous, they were willing to take a risk._

_END FLASHBACK_

"The next year—when we were 12 and 13—we found Inumoka. He's from the Hidden Lightning Village." Tekirai explained. "To tell us that we were from The Biju 9, we decided to wear black bandanas. We still have our originally headbands though." Subaru added. "I was originally from the Grass Country." Tekirai told Naruto. "So… will you join us?" Tekirai asked and held out a black bandana to Naruto.


	5. The New Member, The New Mission

Naruto looked at the black bandana hesitantly. "I... umm... Need some time to think!" he blurted out. "Okay. We didn't expect a direct answer anyway," Tekirai informed. Naruto was trying to think, would it be worth it going back to Konoha? In his mind, the answer was _HELL NO!_. "There's one more thing we have to tell you Naruto-kun. Whether you say 'yes' or 'no' if you ever need anyone to come to you can come to us," Subaru told him.

"Well, I think I'll join you guys! Konoha's just filled with bastards that don't know an appreciation if it bit them in the ass!" Naruto muttered and took off his headband and replaced it with the black bandana. "Now we just need to fix one thing..." Tekirai stated. "FIX WHAT?" Naruto yelled surprisingly. "Your seal. If you haven't noticed, your chakra is leaking out of your body. Soon the Kyuubi chakra will take over you. Either Kyuubi will no longer be contained within you or he'll fuse with you; we don't know," Subaru explained. "It takes three people so let's hurry back to the base. We'll also introduce you to Inumoka!" Tekirai exclaimed and the three _missing-nin_ ran off.

_Hokage Tower, Tsunade's Office: _Tsunade paced back and forth in her office. She glanced up at the clock and it said 4:24 PM. _Damn! It's almost 4:30! Where's that ANBU team? _Tsunade thought. "D-don't w-worry Tsu-tsunade-sama! They st-still have one hour!" Shizune said (a/n the only reason she's stuttering is because Tsunade's so mad its scary!). "Yes, I know that. BUT that ANBU squad was suppose to be promoted to rookie Jounin tomorrow! I expected them to bring Naruto back by now!" Tsunade screamed. It had been at least an hour and a half or so since the ANBU went after Naruto.

"Shizune! Send out Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura and Hyuuga Hinata to go and retrieve the ANBU team. I know they're strong enough to handle it and I'm sure they'll get a clue as to what happened with Naruto," Tsunade assured.

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"So, our mission is to find out what happened to the ANBU team right?" Sakura asked as her, Sasuke, and Hinata jumped from tree to tree. "Yeah. Tsunade also said to bring all severely injured people back to Konoha no matter what the circumstances are," Sasuke replied. Soon the three-man-team was nearing the end of the forest. "Is that...?" Hinata shouted and notice the team of ANBU ninja lying on the ground nearly slaughtered.

The team ran up to them to notice that there was no sign of Naruto. "They're all still breathing," Sakura said after checking the five nins' pulses. One of them was surprisingly still conscious.

"Who... who could've done this to you?" Hinata asked. "The nine-tails..." a faint whisper said. "Who?" Sakura asked still dumbfounded by the question. "The nine-tails..." the person said just as he passed out. "Are they... are they talking about... Naruto-kun?" Hinata shouted. "Maybe... I'm surprised you two still don't know..." Sasuke murmured but both Sakura and Hinata heard him. "Don't know... what?" Sakura asked cautiously.

Sasuke sighed and said, "When I was still training under Orochimaru, I learned about all nine Bijus or Jinchuuriki," he started. "What does any of this have to do with Naruto?" Hinata demanded. "You ever wonder why Naruto use to always be so alone?" he asked the two girls. "Yes…" Sakura said. "Well, that's because 15 years ago Kyuubi—the nine-tailed fox—got sealed inside him. That's why Naruto has tremendous power and sometimes his chakra is orange or red," Sasuke explained. "I… I don't believe it…" Hinata said softly. "Me either…" Sakura responded. "Well," Sasuke said picking up an ANBU ninja, "We have to take these guys back to the Konoha Hospital ASAP."

_Biju 9 Base: _"Nice place…" Naruto commented (a/n: you people imagine the base, it's Sunday and I'm extra lazy on Sunday). "Thanks," Tekirai replied. "Inumoka! Inumoka-kun! Where are you?" Subaru yelled. "Here I am!" a male voice yelled as he jumped out of no where and surprised them all. This guy was tall, at least 5'11''. His hair was yellow with red streaks and his eyes were brown. Everything else her wore was brown too! Brown jacket over a dark brown shirt. And a light brown pair of shorts.

"So… is this Uzumaki Naruto?" he asked. "Yeah that's me!" he yelled. "Naruto's decided to join us. But first we need to fix his seal," Tekirai reported to Inumoka. "Got it!" Inumoka yelled. Naruto had to lay down in a circle with different inscriptions on it. He was only wearing his boxers and his seal was glowing red and orange.

Around the circle were three scrolls with each of the other three members sitting behind it. All the scrolls had been smeared with a little bit of Naruto blood. "Don't worry Naruto-kun! All we have to do is chant the nine Jinchuuriki _50 times_ and your seal will be fix!" Tekirai told him.

"50 TIMES!" Naruto yelled. "Well… more like 150…" Tekirai confessed. "This will probably be two to three hours long. All you need to do is relax and it'll be over before you know it!" Inumoka assured. Soon the three got to work.

_Back in Konoha:_ "So you three are back? Much faster than the ANBU team!" Tsunade commented. "The five ninja are at the hospital right now," Sakura reported. "And…? Is Naruto with them…?" Tsunade asked trying to keep her cool while waiting for one of them to respond. "No… Tsunade-sama… The team couldn't catch Naruto-kun…" Hinata stated. "This is very unfortunate," Shizune said. Tsunade thought for a moment.

"Sasuke! I want you to gather up any of the four ninjas you wish. You have three hours to prepare, I'm giving you a B-ranked mission. I expect it to be done within 10 days. The objective is to retrieve Naruto. If you cannot do that you are to at least gather info on his whereabouts," she ordered. Sasuke nodded in approval. "Wait! What are me and Hinata suppose to do?" Sakura asked. "You'll stay here and treat the ANBU team." And with there orders they were off.

_Somewhere in the forest: _Shikamaru and Chouji were playing a very close game of Go. Kiba was 'training' with Akamaru and Neji was relaxing in a tree. Suddenly Sasuke appeared. "Hey," Shikamaru said without looking up from the Go board. "Sup Sasuke!" Chouji greeted. Neji and Kiba waved and Akamaru yipped happily at Sasuke. "So… What brings you here Sasuke?" Neji asked.

"Tsunade has requested a mission for five; including me that just means she needs four more. We have a 10 days to complete it. The mission's to retrieve Naruto and or at least get some data as to where he is," Sasuke explained to them. "So, the ANBUs couldn't catch 'em?" Shikamaru said. "Unfortunately they couldn't," Sasuke replied. "We aren't gonna have any enemies right? You know, like Naruto was going with some evil organization…?" Chouji asked. "No… he went by himself. I think he's just angry. We'll catch up to him, calm him down, then come back to Konoha," Sasuke said.

"And act like nothing's happened?" Kiba asked. "Actually, Naruto's probably going to get or need a lot of attention. After all, it's not every day you see a comrad leave out of anger," Neji stated. "So does this mean you're all in?" Sasuke asked. "I am," Neji replied. "I'll go… I need something to do anyway," Shikamaru said. "If Shikamaru goes than so do I!" Chouji shouted. "Looks like were all in Sasuke!" Kiba shouted and Akamaru barked. "Good. Meet in front of the Konoha Gates in about two and a half hours," Sasuke said and went off to tell Tsunade who will be joining him in this mission. _Time really does fly by…_

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_Two Hours, 36 Minutes Later at the Biju 9 Base: _Naruto was still lying in the circle. Clenching his fist and teeth out of pain. The first few chants were okay, but by the time they got to the 24th count it started to hurt! Right now they were just of the 73rd. _It's almost over!_ Inumoka thought. _Just a few more minutes and you'll be out of pain_ Tekirai thought. _His teeth are growing in and so are his nails. The three lines on his cheeks are getting thinner. The sealing is working._ Subaru thought. About 16 minutes later, the process was finished.

"Whew…" Inumoka said and fell backwards. "Finally… It's over…" Tekirai said and fell back from exhausting as well. "You're telling me…" Naruto muttered. "Here Naruto, have some water," Subaru offered as Naruto sat up and drank the whole thing in seven seconds. "Wow. Where'd you guys learn to do that?" Naruto asked. "For starters, it's much easier than sealing something into someone/thing." Tekirai said.

"Yeah, we learned it from a scroll named 10 Jutsus of Medic Use. It was the ninth jutsu. We learned it last year when Tekirai was 15 and Subaru and I were 16," Inumoka added. "Pretty decent! Say, do you still have it?" Naruto asked. "Yeah, but we also have a jungle of scrolls so it'd be pretty hard to find it!" Tekirai giggled. Naruto's stomach growled. "Uh… How stupid of me… to not eat before leaving…!" he complained. "Hehe, guess your hungry! Say, ya like ramen?" Inumoka asked. "LIKE IT? I _LOVE_ IT!" Naruto said and raced after Inumoka. "Wait Naruto! You have to put your clothes back on!" Subaru yelled.

_Konoha Gates: _Neji, Kiba and Sasuke were waiting at the gates as they saw Shikamaru and Chouji appeared. "Sorry we're kinda late! _Shikamaru_ fell asleep!" Chouji stated. "You're only five minutes late. It's good timing. But if you were 15 minutes late we would've left you behind," Sasuke said. "Alright, let's move out!" he yelled and they ran into the forest.

"So… Why was Naruto mad?" Chouji asked. Sasuke didn't reply for awhile but then he said, "I think he was tired of not being appreciated. He always wanted to be the greatest Hokage but he wasn't getting much encouragement lately…" Sasuke replied and everyone _oh_ed. "What are we suppose to tell him if we catch up?" Shikamaru asked. "Well," Sasuke started but couldn't finish since he wasn't really the motivational one. "… It depends. When we catch up with him we'll know what to say by then," Neji finished as they zoomed through the forest.

(okay, u can yells at me. I know, it took me awhile 2 get ch. 5 up BUT I did tell ya's I was lazy! I'm workin' 6, k? Bye!)


	6. Remembrance of a Fierce Battle 1

(**A/N: **Sometimes I _will_ write short paragraphs/chapters. Sorry for those who like 'long' ones though but so far no one's complained! Anyway, you people know my motto: _Short, sweet and simple_. Hope ya enjoy this chapter. Gonna slow the story down a bit and take ya to a flash-back!)

It was night-time, around 9:00 and it was a cloudless starlit night. Shikamaru, Chouji and Kiba were asleep while Neji and Sasuke were on nightshift to see if there were any unwanted enemies. But instead of keeping his guard up, Sasuke had his head in the clouds. He could still remember that night. As if it was a day ago, but actually four weeks or so. The night Naruto came to Orochimaru's castle and got him back along with his help. It was at least 18 days after his 15th birthday. "Sasuke!" Neji yelled to him. "Yeah?" he asked finally paying attention.

"You seem to have your mind on other things. What are you thinking about?" Neji asked. "Nothing, it's nothing," Sasuke replied looking up at the dark sky. "Well keep your eyes peeled. You can daydream and sleep at 12:00 midnight but until then be on guard," Neji said sternly. And so Sasuke did, for awhile, but then went back to the night Naruto came and they both defeated Orochimaru.

_FLASHBACK_

'_This place still gives me the creeps!' Naruto thought as he went closer towards the entrance. He remembered the day when he, Sakura, and Jiraiya were here for the first time. 'Things can change a lot in three years, better keep my guard up,' he thought remembering all the booby traps he got into._

_Naruto walked slowly and softly so he couldn't set off any traps or alarms. He set off a few snares here and there but was unharmed in the process. _

_Then Naruto came to a door that had at least 14,000 steps when he opened it. 'Jeez! Not steps!' Naruto thought and went to climbing them. When he finished he got to a door and when he opened it there was an empty room, or so he thought. "Empty?" he said knowing there was a trick somewhere. "All right, who's in here!?" he yelled as a black figure appeared. "I am," said a low voice but didn't seem much older than Naruto. Naruto saw a man appear who had a Sound Village headband and was wearing clothes that reminded him of the Sound 4 (plus Kimimarou)._

"_My name is Junke, and when you enter the Sound 5 Floors there's no turning back!" he yelled and somehow the door behind Naruto made a 'click' sound thus making it locked. "No one has ever passed the first floor and no one ever will!" "Great! So I'm guessing the Snake Hag got together another team of sound goons!" Naruto whined. "You're the goon for coming to this place. You've entered your own death!" Junke shouted than charged at him. Naruto got a grip on his hands and they were both struggle to get one of the other to pin to the ground._

"_You know, you kinda remind me of another Fatso name Jirobou!" Naruto insulted. This made Junke mad and he threw Naruto against the wall. "You'll pay for that!" Junke yelled and charged at Naruto again._

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

_Orochimaru laughed, "Sasuke… Looks like one of your friends have come and tried to get you back again." "I know," Sasuke muttered in return. 'Better late then never. Although I never thought he'd be here so soon,' Sasuke thought. About a week before his 15th birthday he sent a message bird to Naruto saying he was soon going to betray Orochimaru. He realized that he would drop his revenge—for awhile—and come back to Konoha with his friends. _(a/n: told ya this would be a little hard-to-believe or OOC)_ 'I just hope the dobe can make it pass all five floors before he can get to this one,' Sasuke thought._

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

_Naruto was still fighting with Junke. He was only able to dodge, block, and counterattack. "Jeez! For a fatso you sure can move fast!" Naruto shouted. "Shut-up you little fox twerp!" Junke yelled and threw four kunai knives at Naruto. Naruto threw the same amount of shuriken to cancel out the speed of the knives. 'He may be fast, but he's slowing down! It's time to do one of my old favorite moves!' Naruto thought. "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" he yelled and 10 other _Naruto_s appeared. _

"_Clones, eh? How pathetic! I haven't even activated my Curse Seal yet and you're using one of your best techniques already? You have got to be the most idiotic excuse for a ninja that I've ever fought!" Junke mocked but Naruto had a smirk on his face. He knew what the outcome of the battle would be, because it was about to be over._

_Naruto let nine of his clones charge at Junke, only to be destroyed. The 10th one then charged at Junke with five kunai knives, threw them all, than disappeared. "How useless! And here I thought Orochimaru told me that all nine vessels had advanced abilities!" Junke said dodging all of the kunais, "Now it's just you and me!" Or that's what he thought. The Naruto he was looking at was a clone. The real Naruto transformed himself into a kunai that was thrown from one of his clones. Naruto changed back into himself just as his last clone disappeared._

"_What!? That one was a clone too!?" Junke yelled in anger. "Don't turn around!" Naruto shouted just as he aimed a kunai at the back of Junke's neck. "Jeez, he was a pain!" Naruto said and opened the door on the other side of the room to find _more _steps. 'He did say _Sound FIVE Floors_,' Naruto thought and went to climbing the second stair case. _

"_It's seems I've underestimated him… He was the first person to past the first of my five floors… It will be a fascinating battle between him and Tanaka, don't you think Sasuke?" Orochimaru said to him with an evil chuckle. "Yeah, whatever," Sasuke murmured._

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

_"Who's in this room?" Naruto shouted and heard his voice echo off the walls. "Me," Naruto heard someone say. This time the voice sounded like a female but to Naruto, he couldn't tell. Out of the shadows stepped another member of the Sound Five who was wearing the same thing as Junke except for a Sound Village forehead protector. "I wonder if Orochimaru decided to make his Sound Five an all male squad," Naruto thought aloud._

"_You jackass I'm a girl!" Tanaka yelled. "Well sor-ry!" Naruto yelled back. "You might've defeated that fatass Junke but when you reach my floor, it'll be the end of your journey! I'm also gonna kick your ass twice as hard for thinking that I'm a boy!" Tanaka yelled and pulled out what seem to be a weapon but turned out to be a whistle. "Have you ever wondered what it's like to be deaf?" she asked. "Oh snap," Naruto whispered. Tanaka then blew the whistle as loud as she could. The screeching sounds bounced off the walls and were pounding at Naruto's ears. For some reason it didn't effect Tanaka._

_Naruto covered his ears but that was no good. The sound stopped and when Naruto finished covering his ears he noticed that his ears were bleeding a little bit. 'Damn!' he thought. "Now you won't know which way my attacks are coming from, dumbass!" Tanaka yelled but her voice seemed muffled to Naruto. "Damn it! I can hardly hear a thing, and I can't even tell how loud I'm being! I've have to chose my jutsus wisely!' he thought. All the sudden three kunai knives were thrown at Naruto. He was able to dodge them at the nick of time but one kunai cut his hand and one gave him a slight cut on his face._

'_How am I suppose to defeat her, IF I CAN'T HEAR HER!?' Naruto thought. Then he remembered a jutsu Jiraiya taught him in there three-year-training._

_xxxxxxxxxxxx_

"_Naruto, this jutsu will take a lot of concentration and patience. It is called 'Sound Through Touch'," Jiraiya explained. "_Sounds_ pretty lame," Naruto muttered. "It isn't. This jutsu helps you with two of your five senses—hearing and seeing. If one of your enemies ever finds a way to block out your hearing, you're in a troublesome situation," Jiraiya added. "So? What's the jutsu about?" Naruto asked and his tone showed a hint of eagerness. "Instead of seeing with your eyes, and listening with your ears, you only see and hear with your feet," Jiraiya explained_

"_That makes no sense!" Naruto yelled and Jiraiya sighed. "You feel vibrations in your feet. You can hear the sounds as well. You get a picture of it in your mind. With this jutsu, you must be very quick," he explained to Naruto in simpler terms. "OK!" Naruto yelled and went straight to training._

_xxxxxxxxxxxx_

"_Here goes nothing," Naruto said and preformed the hand signs for Nezumi_ (rat)_, Tora_ (tiger)_, Usagi_ (hare)_, and Ryu _(dragon)_ twice, "Hibiki Tsuujite Tezawari no Jutsu!" he whispered the rest. _(a/n: Hibiki Sound Tsuujite Through Tezawari Touch)_ Naruto then concentrated on the jutsu. Closing his eyes and with his feet he could feel a few vibrations and picture the movements in his mind. 'Now I can win for sure!' he thought. "Jeez, what's this idiot doing now?" Tanaka said._

_'Oh well, I'll put him outta his trouble and finish him of now!' she thought with a smirk. "I must admit, you're pretty good for making me have to use the first level of my Curse Seal. But now it's all over!" she yelled then shouted something but to Naruto he couldn't make it out. All the sudden he felt large vibrations under his feet and jumped backwards several yards. Just as he did a sound barrier appeared._

_"Shit! How the hell did he dodge that? Troublesome bastard!" Tanaka yelled. "All right! I gotta thank the old perv for this one when I get back with Sasuke!" Naruto murmured. 'Now… what jutsu to do…?' he thought. "Summoning Jutsu!" he yelled. "Tch! A summon won't work on me!" Tanaka yelled. But to her surprise, it wasn't a summoning she was use to. It looked like a 4'5'' four-tailed red colored fox that had red chakra flowing around it._

_"Oh shit," Tanaka said as the fox attack her in the most gruesome ways. Naruto—who was still using the Sound Through Touch Jutsu—could only feel the vibrations of Tanaka being attacked. Suddenly, he heard a piercing scream just as his hearing was coming back. "Jeez, what the…?" Naruto said but couldn't say the rest. "Holy hearing aids!" He saw the fox that had a small smile on its face that just licked its lips so the blood could come off. Tanaka's left arm and right leg was missing and the blood was pouring everywhere. Her neck had a huge cut as if someone was trying to chop it off. And her stomach was torn out of her system._

_'Sheesh! I'm kinda glad Jiraiya taught me how to change a toad to a fox!' Naruto thought a little shakily. The fox yipped happy. "Err… good boy!" Naruto said and the fox disappeared. Stepping over Tanaka's body he crossed over the rest of the room, just awaiting what dangers lay ahead._

(a/n: Okay…. So this was one of my 'long' chapters. This is only part 1 people! Okay, as you noticed I'm trying to match the new Sound Five with the old Sound Four (Five). Junke's like Jirobou and Tanaka's liked Tayuya, a little. Those are just two. I guess I should tell ya the rest of the crew. On the next floor (third floor) Naruto's gonna fight TWO people (Sakon, Ukon; hint, hint). Their names are gonna be Obu and Ozu. The last person on the 'last'/fourth floor is gonna be Kimishima. He's kinda like Kidoumaru but instead he summons _praying mantises_. Later!)


	7. Remembrance of a Fierce Battle 2

(a/n: Well, here's the 7th chapter! Sorry it took so long but I needed a few jutsu's to write down... Anyway, I guess I should tell you how Orochimaru, Sasuke, and Kabuto ((he isn't mentioned, until now,)) knew when Naruto beat Junke and Tanaka. It's like this: On the floor where Orochimaru etc. is, he has four candles. The first one blew out when Naruto beat Junke. The second one went out when he beat Tanaka. The third one will blow out if he beats Obu+Ozu and the fourth one will if he beats Kimishima. Whew! Okay, enjoy chapter 7!)

**_Remembrance of a Fierce Battle part 2_**

_After his battle with Tanaka, Naruto climbed the other staircase of 14,000 steps. "I need a break," Naruto muttered breathlessly as he sat on the 3,452 step. "This is definitely gonna be the day; the day I bring back Sasuke and keep my promise with Sakura!" he said to gain more of his confidence. "It's been three years… And even if Sasuke changed on the outside, there's gotta be the old Sasuke on the inside!" Naruto said to himself. 'Better get climbing again,' he thought and did so._

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

_Naruto opened the door to the third floor. He saw the only exit on the other side of the room which looked like it was a mile away in the dim light. Naruto took a step forward then stepped in something wet. He took a step back and assumed it was water. When he sniffed the air he didn't smell water. Instead, it smelled like… oil. 'Oil?' Naruto thought then looked around the room. He saw nine other puddles _(a/n: 10 in all) _around the room. Five of them had a dark liquid in it so Naruto guessed it was oil, too. The other five were clear and looked like water. 'Oil… and water?' Naruto thought then heard someone—or some_thing_—applauding._

_"Impressive, demon-brat, very impressive," he heard a male voice said. "You are the first to make it this far and to the third floor," another voice commented. "We will not underestimate you nor doubt your abilities," they said together. Naruto saw two male figures appear. Both of them had black hair but one passed his shoulders and the other person's hair didn't. For some reason they reminded Naruto of Sakon and Ukon._

_"My name is Obu," the one with the shorter hair said, "and he is Ozu." 'Obu and Ozu, eh? My next opponents!' Naruto thought. "And when you enter our floor your fate is sealed—to death!" they said in unison. "Talk about being cocky. And they said _I_ was over-confident," Naruto said. "These guys must use some type of water jutsu's. But I still don't understand the oil thing," Naruto murmured. _

_As if he had read Naruto's lips, Obu said, "I suppose you're wondering why we have puddles of water and oil around this room." Obu and Ozu chuckled as if there was an obvious answer. "Obu specializes in water jutsu's," Ozu said, "where as I specialize in fire." "And don't think just because they're opposite elements doesn't mean they won't make good combinations," Obu said. 'So they use fire and water techniques… I'll have to defeat one, then the other," Naruto thought._

_"Wait a minute! Why are you telling me this if I'm your enemy!" Naruto yelled. "Because you're going to die soon," Ozu said. "But what about you two saying you weren't going to doubt me?" Naruto shouted. "We lied," they both said then cracked up as if they heard the funniest joke ever. "I'll show them to underestimate me!" Naruto shouted then made five clones of him. Then Naruto and his clones charged at their new opponents._

_"Let the battle begin!" Obu and Ozu said. So, for awhile, Naruto and his clones fought Obu and his twin. As soon as two clones were destroyed Naruto made three more using little of his energy. The battle was getting intense, and Ozu decided to heat things up, _literally_. He took a few steps back into an oil-puddle then pulled five objects out of his waist pack. Naruto had no time to see what it was; he was busy fighting Obu and a clone he made out of water (Mizu Bushin)._

_Suddenly, five shuriken covered in oil were thrown at him. Then he heard Ozu yell, "Katon: Hinote Shuriken!" (Fire Element: Flaming Shuriken). The shuriken that Ozu had thrown earlier were set ablaze. Naruto dodged the first three but two of them cut his left arm and right shoulder. "Aah!" Naruto yelled in agony and held his right shoulder. Before Naruto could do anything else, Obu yelled, "Suiton: Suiryu no Jutsu!" (Water Element: Water Dragon Jutsu) Out of one of the clear puddles rose a dragon made of water and it headed straight for Naruto._

_'I get it now… The oil helps Ozu with his fire-type jutsu's and the water gives Obu an advantage with his water-type jutsu's,' Naruto thought as he barely dodged the dragon that crashed into the wall behind him. "Katon: Hinote Inu Bushin!" Ozu yelled (Fire Element: Flaming Hound Clone). "Suiton: Mizu Inu Bushin!" Obu yelled (Water Element: Water Dog Clone). Out of the water appeared a six foot dog. Out of the oil started as just an oil-figure but than lit on fire to show a dogs' feature. It was the same height as the water-dog. "Great, just great," Naruto muttered._

_The two dogs made snarling sounds and bared their teeth. Then they ran towards Naruto at speeds lightning couldn't compare to. Both of them leaving a trail of water or fire behind them. 'Gotta think! There's gotta be a water jutsu or two that Jiraiya taught me. It'll put out the fire pup but I don't know what it'll do to the one made of water,' Naruto thought. Naruto made a few hand signs then said, "Suiton: Mizu Kabe no Jutsu!" (Water Element: Water Wall Jutsu) Naruto got close enough to one of Obu's puddles to make his jutsu work. _

_The two dogs were at least two meters away from Naruto. They were running so fast they hardly had time to stop. The flame-dog ran into the water making a sizzling sound while the other one just vanished. "Whew," Naruto said after a sigh of relief. "Damn it!" Ozu cursed. "It would be better if he couldn't see us. Our jutsu's would be much more effective," Obu said. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" They said at the same time. "Katon: Hinote Misairu no Jutsu!" Ozu yelled. _(Fire Element: Fire Missile Jutsu—Hinote can mean FIRE or FLAME)_ "Suiton: Mizu Supaiku no Jutsu!" Obu yelled. (Water Element: Water Spikes Jutsu). The missiles made of water and the spikes of fire collided and made a thick fog of steam._

_'First I couldn't hear well and now I can barely see!' Naruto that. "Perfect, my brother, now we can kill him in tenth of a second!" Obu said. Naruto heard footsteps, but couldn't tell which direction it was coming from. Before he knew it, Naruto was flying six feet backwards from the force of a roundhouse kick to the face. "Damn!" Naruto muttered and whipped the blood from his lip. 'I could always use the _Sound Through Touch_ jutsu… No, that takes at least 2/6 my chakra, which would be like 1/3, and that means it would take about 33 percent of my energy! What do I do…?' Naruto thought._

_Before Naruto could think of a plan, he was punched through the air. "I hate this fog!" Naruto complained after getting up. "Enough punches and kicks, Ozu, finish him off!" his brother shouted. "I know what I'm doing, Obu! You never let me toy with the enemy!" Ozu replied angrily. "We're not supposed to be _toying_ with the enemy; we're supposed to _KILL_ them! I can't believe I'm even related to you!" Obu yelled. "I can't believe I'm related to _you_!" Ozu said. 'I can see they don't get along well," Naruto thought. 'Maybe… maybe I can trick them. Then take them down one-by-one,' Naruto thought than transformed into Obu._

_'Hope this works!' Naruto thought then got punched in the face. "You idiot," Naruto yelled in Obu's voice, "you hit me! You're supposed to hit the enemy not your ally, let alone your brother!" At first Ozu felt stupid, but then he felt angry. "How the hell was I suppose to know it was you!? The nine-tailed brat was standing there a minute ago!" Ozu shouted. "You idiot, he's tricked you! I'm standing right behind you!" Obu replied just as angry as Ozu. Ozu turned around and saw Obu. "Okay, if you're here, then where's the demon-brat," Ozu asked, "I'm the one doing all the work!" _

_Obu was about to return an angry reply but then they heard, "Ozu you imbecile, are you easily being fooled by him being transformed into me? Can't you tell your own twin from someone else in a disguise!?" Ozu was getting angrier and confused by the second. He didn't like the fact that two people were pushing him around, especially one who's just suppose to be transformed into Obu. Ozu had, had it and yelled, "Katon: Hinote Kakuhan!" _(Fire Element: Flame Whip) _In Ozu's hand appeared a reddish-orange whip made of, of course, fire._

_Not even caring who he hit, Ozu whipped his weapon at one of the Obu's. "GAAAAAAHHH!" Obu said when it hit him. Suddenly the thick fog became clearer. 'Obu' was a few yards behind Ozu and his flame-whip disappeared. "No… what have I done," Ozu said looking in horror at his twin who was bleeding like crazy from a huge cut in the right part of his chest. "Y-you… i-idiot," Obu said and coughed up blood. The henge on Naruto disappeared. Ozu kneeled down beside his brother in the puddle of blood. "Forgive me, my brother," Ozu said. "Y-you… w-were always… an i-idiot… B-but this t-time… you're forgiven," Obu said as his last sentence. In the next 10 seconds, Obu had died._

_'Whoa… I had expected to trick them for a quick moment and get them against each other until I had the perfect time to attack one of them. I never expected Ozu or Obu to kill the other,' Naruto thought. "Obu… your death will not be in vain… I will kill the little demon-brat for your sake," Ozu said, "Now it's your turn to pay the ultimate price!" Naruto didn't think Ozu was such a threat. He used fire-type jutsu's which can easily be nullified by water. All he had to do now was defeat Ozu with the 'ultimate' water jutsu then he could move on to the next floor. But what jutsu would be powerful enough to do that, and cost Naruto little of his chakra?_

_Naruto had no time to think when Ozu yelled, "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" _(you all know who says that a lot)_ Naruto was dodging as fast as he could. Each time Ozu used that jutsu, the balls of fire got closer to him. Naruto then thought of a water-type jutsu to use against Ozu. He would use the same one Obu used to help his brother make the steam-fog; Water Spikes Jutsu. Even though Naruto didn't know how much chakra it would take him to do it, he had no other plan-of-action in mind. "Suiton: Mizu Supaiku no Jutsu!" Naruto yelled._

_The water-jutsu Naruto just used took up ¾ or 75 percent of his chakra. Even though it worked—Ozu got a direct hit in the heart with one of the water-spikes—Naruto was as exhausted as heck. He knew he had one more opponent to face but he also knew that if he pushed himself too hard it _would_ be the end of his journey. But knew he never goes back on his word, and he never brakes a promise with a friend. After resting for awhile, Naruto opened the door to the other side of the room and started climbing the stairs without hesitation._

(a/n: All righty! Chapter 7 has FINALLY come! I know I'm not the best person with fight scenes but, hey, beggers can't be choosers. I noticed some of ya want me to get back to the present and/or think flashbacks are unnecessary… I promise I'll get there soon AFTER Ch.8 ((Remembrance of a Fierce Battle 3)). And besides, what's a fanfiction w/o flashbacks!? A _horrible_ fanfiction… Oh, I forgot to mention: I'm not updating chapter 8 UNLESS I get EIGHT reviews!!! Until ch.8, bye-bye!)


	8. Remembrance of a Fierce Battle 3

(a/n: All right, here it is. CHAPTER EIGHT IS IN THE HOUSE!!! Whew, making flashbacks are hard... Especially three chapters of it... Note to Self: Make flashbacks IN chapters, and make 'em short. Enjoy the rest of the flashback!)

_It was a good thing that this time the staircase was shorter. Instead of being 14,000 it was more like 10,000. Which was still a lot, but less than what he was climbing before. Naruto was on the last ten steps when he saw the door to the fourth floor. Obu and Ozu said that each floor higher than the next, would have a stronger opponent. But Naruto knew he didn't have time to fight a challenging opponent. He had to find Sasuke and hightail it out of Orochimaru's place. Naruto just hoped his opponent wouldn't waste too much of his chakra before he has to use his back-up chakra._

_As Naruto opened the door to the next room, he noticed it was EXTREMELY cold. "It's f-freezing in h-here!" Naruto said. "What opponent would want to have an Ice Age for a room?" Just as he said that, another person of the Sound Five appear._

_The person was tall, maybe seven feet! His arms were as long as a snake. And his eyes were yellow with black pupils. The guy was as creepy as Orochimaru. "You must be very good," said the man, "to have made it this far. It's never happened until now." _

_Naruto was finally getting some respect. Even though he was one of Orochimaru's minions it was still good to get a compliment here and there. Naruto suddenly got more confidence and felt stronger. Strong enough to get Sasuke back, that's for sure._

"_You must be very strong to have beaten Ozu and Obu. I, Kimishima, am honored to fight you," the man named Kimishima said. "Well Kimishima, I hope you know I'm in a hurry to get Sasuke back! So let's make this quick," Naruto yelled. "So be it. But I am not one to show off my jutsu's so quickly, so have a taste of my taijutsu!" shouted Kimishima._

_Naruto nearly underestimated Kimishima, his hand-to-hand combat_ was_ good. And that was just his fighting skills; Naruto didn't want to find out what his ninjutsu was! _(a/n: neither do I so let's cut to the chase so Naruto can fight Sasuke and so on…)_ 'There's gotta be something in here that I can use,' Naruto thought as he searched his waist pack. Naruto knew shuriken and kunai would be a waste of time, but he was able to find a weapon that would work._

_Naruto pulled out a small red ball. "Hope this works!" said Naruto as he threw the ball towards the ground and backed up several yards. The ball was actually a smoke bomb, or that's what Kimishima thought. The bomb contained mace instead of smoke. _(a/n: You know, mace. The stuff cops carry around. Almost like pepper-spray but 10x worse) _It was a weapon Jiraiya taught him how to make during his three years of training. Naruto mentally smacked himself for not using it on one of his earlier opponents. Of course, it was just a prototype, and Naruto only had three._

_The cloud of mace disappeared. Naruto saw Kimishima struggling to get up and choking from the mace he inhaled. "What (coughs) the hell (coughs) is this stuff (coughs)!?" Kimishima demanded. "Like you said, I _am_ strong. And I decided to use my mace bomb to finish this battle quickly so I can get Sasuke and leave!" Naruto explained. But as Naruto was talking, Kimishima had passed out. Naruto went over to his body and touched his neck, there was no pulse._

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_"It seems Kimishima has failed," Kabuto said when the candle to Kimishima's floor blew out. "Naruto will be coming to this floor next," Orochimaru said with his usually evil-grin, "which is a good thing because I want to test his abilities! I want a fight to be worth it." Sasuke made a face of disgust. Why did he need another person to help him defeat Naruto? _(a/n: YES, Sasuke is good but Orochimaru and Kabuto don't know. Let's just say he's 'acting.')_He could handle Naruto himself._

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_Naruto opened the door to the next floor, expecting more stairs to climb. But this time it was only a long, narrow hallway with three doors. One of the doors leading to the _real_ fifth floor, the other two sends Naruto to a gruesome death. This would be one of the most important tasks Naruto had to do if he wanted to get Sasuke back._

_"Damn it! Which door should I chose?" Naruto said to himself. "It's times like this when I wish I had the Byakugan." Naruto looked at each door which had the Kanji characters for 'one', 'two', and 'three.' Naruto had one out of three chances to figure out which was the right door. This was a tough decision, and in times like this Naruto knew there was only one way to solve it… "Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe," he said and pointed to each of the doors. When he finished saying Eeny-Meeny-Miny-Moe his finger pointed to the second door._

_Naruto swallowed hard. 'Hope this is the right one!' he thought just before he fainted. When Naruto came to he wasn't in Orochimaru's castle. He was in sewer scenery and there was a large cage in front of him. "Why the hell did you knock me out you stupid fox? Can't you see I'm busy!?" yelled Naruto. The large demon-fox growled menacingly in return which made Naruto flinch. "**Foolish little boy**," he said, **"I saved your—more importantly, my—life. If you would've chosen the second door you would've fallen into a pit of spikes. And if you chose the first one, you would be lost in a large room of darkness where there are traps set here and there. So be thankful**."_

_Naruto rubbed the back of his neck and said sorry. "So, uh, can you get me outta here now?" he asked. Before Naruto knew it he was laying on his back looking up towards the ceiling of Orochimaru's castle. "I hate it when that darn fox does that," said Naruto as he rubbed his head. Remembering what Kyuubi had told him, Naruto opened the door with the three on it. Just like the fox said, the other two were booby-trapped; this one wasn't. Without hesitation Naruto ran up the 45 steps to reach the next door which would finally lead him to Sasuke._

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_"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled when he saw him along with Orochimaru and Kabuto. There was nothing in the room that looked dangerous so Naruto ran right in until he was several yards away from Sasuke. "This time I'm definitely leaving this place _WITH YOU_!" Naruto shouted. "This time I won't hesitate on my moves, Naruto. I might just kill you if I want to," Sasuke replied. "If I kill you, I'll kill Kyuubi no Kitsune himself." Naruto was shocked; how'd Sasuke figure that out? Even though Naruto knew it was pretty obvious—since Sasuke saw the Kyuubi-chakra when they fought at the Valley of End._

_"This battle will truly entertain me," said Orochimaru. "What!? Don't tell me _he's_ going to fight me _too_!" Naruto said. "Not just him, but so will I," Kabuto responded. "Fine! Then I'll just triple my efforts of getting Sasuke back!" said Naruto. And with those words the fight between Naruto versus Sasuke, Orochimaru, and Kabuto began. _(a/n: most people wanna get on with things so let's cut to the chase)

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_It had been at least an hour or so since Naruto started his fight with Orochimaru, Sasuke, and Kabuto. Even though Naruto was putting up a good fight, but he wasn't exactly winning. Sasuke, Orochimaru, and Kabuto were tired but they hadn't used up half of their chakra. Naruto on the other had only a small amount left since he fought four other people; he didn't know how much longer he could hold on._

_"I… must admit… he's grown stronger," Kabuto said. '_Too_ strong,' Orochimaru thought, 'by now he's at par with Sasuke.' Speaking of Sasuke, he almost stabbed Naruto with his Kusanagi for the 8th time. Luckily he had missed but badly cut Naruto like his 1st and 3rd try. "Err," Naruto said and held his wound. 'Sasuke's improved… This is bad. I gotta end this quickly before he_ does_ kill me!' thought Naruto just as he got kicked in the stomach by Sasuke._

_"Tch! Pathetic dobe," Sasuke said as he went over to Naruto and held his Kusanagi to Naruto's neck. "You have no meaning in life. No one cares about you. Though they may on the outside they truly despise you on the inside," he continued. "If I get rid of you, I'll be doing Konoha—no, the whole world—a favor. Besides, nobody wants a weakling, such as yourself, to be the Hokage." Once Sasuke said those cold and cruel words, Naruto really did feel like dying. It brought back some painful memories._

_'All my effort… to be wasted… and by… Sasuke,' Naruto thought miserably. "Excellent," Orochimaru said. "Now, finish him off!" Naruto waited for Sasuke's reaction until he heard him say, "Never." Surprisingly Sasuke turned around and cut of Orochimaru's right hand. "Orochimaru-sama!" Kabuto yelled. "Sasuke… you… betrayed me!" Orochimaru snapped angrily. "I rather betray you a thousand times than leave my friends behind," Sasuke replied in a cold tone then he helped Naruto up. "You still have enough chakra for one last jutsu?" Sasuke asked and made the hand signs for Chidori. "You betcha!" Naruto said as he summoned a clone to help him make Resangan. _

_"This… can't… be," Orochimaru said. At that moment Sasuke blasted Chidori through Orochimaru's chest and Naruto did the same thing with Kabuto. "Let's get outta here. I have one last surprise for this place," Sasuke said as they jetted out of the place. Once Sasuke and Naruto were a few meters away, Sasuke snapped his fingers which made a small explosion. Soon the entire castle was engulfed in flames. "Whoa," was all Naruto could say._

_"Hey, Sasuke," Naruto said. "At first I really thought you meant all that stuff… about killing me." Sasuke looked at Naruto then sighed, "I was acting. Apparently you didn't get that message I sent you; either that or you didn't read it." Naruto laughed a little then jumped on his feet. Sasuke couldn't help but smirk_ (Sasuke smiling is like a sign that the world is ending…)_. "Well, guess we're heading back to Konoha!" Naruto said. "Konoha? Who said _I_ was going to Konoha?" yelled Sasuke._

_"Sasuke, that's the only place_ to_ go," said Naruto. "If you think I'm going back to Konoha you've got another—," before Sasuke could finish Naruto knocked him out. "Geez, I knew he wouldn't want to go back right away," Naruto complained as he flung Sasuke over his shoulder. And so began the long walk from Otto to Konoha; which was about three hours and very tiring since Naruto had to carry the unconscious Sasuke._

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_It was 7:00 AM and the start of the new day. Sakura quickly got dressed and headed towards Konoha Gates. She had been waiting for Naruto to return with Sasuke ever since he left. But at 2:45 AM she finally decided to head home and rest for awhile. _

_Sakura was pacing back and forth. 'I hope they're okay. I wonder if Sasuke's even alive,' she thought. Then she stopped when she saw a person heading towards Konoha. That person was carrying someone else. At that moment Sakura immediately knew who that was. "Naruto!" she yelled and ran over to him. Naruto was still carrying Sasuke; he had been carrying him for almost three hours. Naruto was utterly exhausted._

_"Yes! You got Sasuke back! We need to treat his injuries quickly! Thank goodness he's not too harmed," Sakura said then carried Sasuke to Konoha Hospital. _(a/n: That's almost what Naruto quoted Sakura said to him that day. I dunno actually, I deleted that chapter… hehehe)_ Naruto was a little upset and hurt that Sakura didn't notice all the crap he went through to get Sasuke back, but he just sighed and followed her._

_Three days later: Naruto woke up inside a hospital bedroom. He looked around the room and spotted Hinata. "Oh! Naruto-kun… your awake," she said. "How long have I been out?" he asked. "Nearly three days," she answered. "Well… where's Sasuke?" he asked. "He's fine. The day you came back with him Sakura immediately healed him. When I heard you were at the hospital I volunteered to heal you," she replied. "That's terribly nice of you Hinata," Naruto said. "Um… thank-you… Naruto-kun. But, we should be thanking you; for bringing Sasuke back," she said and blushed a little._

_Naruto was happy. He knew that if there was one person who cared about him, it was Hinata. "Heh, thanks," he said._

The stars glowed as bright as the sun. One of them flew by as quick as a cheetah. Sasuke decided to make a wish and say, "I wish… I wish it won't take three years for us to get Naruto back."

(All right! Chapter 8 is updated! I won't be making flashbacks for awhile… UNLESS they're short and in a chapter. Oh, and Sasuke wasn't remembering things from the ((counts paragraphs)) 23rd paragraph and on. I just made that apart of the f/back! Well, back to the present. I'll try and update soon but don't blame me if chapter 9 is long!!! I need 9 reviews to, okay? Oh snap—Bleach is about to come on! Gotta go, until chapter 9, see ya!)


	9. Training

Naruto was asleep in his new room he had gotten in the Bijuu 9 base. An alarm clock set at 7:30 AM just went off. Naruto turned it off and sleepily said, "Five more minutes." His five minutes turned into 35 when he realized he had fallen asleep—again—and woke up at 8:05 AM. "OH CRAP!!! I HAVE TO MEET INUMOKA, TEKIRAI, AND SUBABRU IN 55 MINUTES!" Naruto yelled as he quickly got dressed, ate breakfast, and headed outside the base.

"Hmm… where's Naruto-kun?" Tekirai said. "He's coming. He probably just over-slept!" Inumoka replied. "GOOD MORNING INUMOKA-KUN, TEKIRAI-CHAN!" Naruto yelled as he ran up to them. "Sorry I'm late; I over-slept! Say, where's Subaru?" "She went to see if there were any missions we could do within a 34-mile radius. We have to get money somehow," Tekirai informed him.

"Let's get down to business, Naruto! Before we look for the vessel of Hachibi no Orochi, we want to train you," Inumoka said. (a/n: I went to to find that out. They originally had that but now they don't. They said Hachibi could be an eight-headed snake or an eight-tailed dragon, I went with the snake!) "All right! So what jutsu will you teach me?" said Naruto in an excited tone. "We decided to start you off with a few element-jutsu," Inumoka said and handed him a scroll that had the Kanji 'earth' on it, "so let's start out with Earth!"

Naruto read the first out of seven jutsu's listed. That jutsu was called _Doton: Tsuchi Engai no Jutsu_. (Earth Element: Earth Dome Jutsu). This jutsu creates a barrier around its user to protect them from an enemy. Depending on how much chakra you use will depend on how venerable it is; it can only last for 11 minutes.

"If ya find a jutsu you like go ahead and start with it," said Tekirai. "We'll live you to train for half an hour then come back. Until then, good luck!" Inumoka said before he and Tekirai left. And with that, Naruto went to training on the Earth Jutsu.

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Sasuke, Neji, Kiba, Akamaru, Chouji, and Shikamaru zoomed through the forest. "We have nine days, eight nights, to finish this mission… That's more than enough time," Sasuke said. "Kiba, Akamaru has a trail of Naruto's scent; you sure he's leading us the right way?" Shikamaru asked. "Of course he is! Akamaru's been around Naruto lots of times; I'm sure he knows his scent by now," replied Kiba.

"Good. Now all we have to do is find Naruto, talk with him a bit, then were back with our normal lives in Konoha," said Neji. "What if… what if he refuses? Are we gonna have to fight?" Chouji asked. "Maybe," Sasuke said as the first one to reply, "but we don't really want to make him upset. Who knows what'll happen." _I just hope we _don't_ end up fighting him,_ Sasuke thought.

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_Outside Bijuu 9 Base: _Naruto was panting hard after trying the third earth jutsu for the 5th time. He already got use to _Earth Dome_ in 12 minutes and the second jutsu he mastered in eight; that one was _Doton: Rokku Hanmaa no Jutsu_. (Earth Element: Rock Hammer Jutsu) Now he was trying _Doton: Chiri Supaiku no Jutsu_. (Earth Element: Dirt Spikes Jutsu). "This (pants) jutsu (pants) sure does (pants) take a lot of your energy," Naruto muttered breathlessly. "Okay, here I go! Doton: Chiri Supaiku no Jutsu!" The first time Naruto tried, he only made 10 spikes rise from the ground. He was aiming for 50. His 6th try got him to 38. "All right! I'm six spikes away from my last try!" yelled Naruto.

"You seem to be working hard," Naruto heard a familiar voice say. He turned around to see Subaru. "Subaru-chan! How's it going?" he yelled. "I'm fine. Where's Inumoka and Tekirai?" she asked. "They should be here soon. They gave me 30 minutes to train alone and by now my time should be up," Naruto responded just as two poof-clouds. "Did somebody mention us?" Inumoka said. "Glad you guys are here. We've got a new mission," Subaru said.

"Sweet! What are we gonna be doing?" Naruto asked excitedly. This would be his first mission since he became a part of the Bijuu 9. "Hold you horses Naruto, you're not going anywhere," Subaru said. "WHAT!? WHY NOT!?" he complained. "You've been training too hard, relax a bit while were gone," Tekirai answered. "Yeah. We promise the next mission we get you can go on," Inumoka said. "Okay," Naruto said a little depressed but he did feel like he needed to chill out for a bit. Soon Tekirai, Subaru, and Inumoka left leaving Naruto alone.

"Man am I thirsty," Naruto said, "I guess I'll go get some water." Naruto started the walk through the forest to get back to the Bijuu 9 base—which wasn't far away. As he was walking through the forest, Naruto heard someone yell," NARUTO, STOP!"

(a/n: Told ya this might've been short. Nothing special in this chapter. Only Naruto learning a few new jutsu's. I need 10 reviews to get up chapter 10 people! There's not gonna be any action in the next one though. Only Naruto having a talk with… Oops, almost let out the person/people who told Naruto to stop! But ya probably know who it/they is/are… Until chapter 10, sayonara!)


	10. Let's Have a Talk

(a/n: Chapter 10!! ALL RIGHT!!! Like I said there will be NO FIGHTING in this chapter; just Naruto having a 'nice' conversation with some of his ex-friends... Enjoy!)

"NARUTO, STOP!" Naruto turned around and his happy excited face turned into a scowl of disgust. The people who he saw were none other then his ex-friends Hyuuga Neji, Inuzuka Kiba and his dog Akamaru, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Chouji. The person who had shouted his name was his ex-best friend/rival, Uchiha Sasuke. "We finally caught up to you," Chouji said breathlessly since they were running for almost five miles to catch up with Naruto.

"What the hell do you people want?" Naruto asked impatiently. "We've come to take you back, Naruto," Neji answered. "Back to Konoha" Shikamaru added, "where you belong." Naruto's scowl didn't fade away. "Why would _I_ belong in a town where people _hate me_? They're probably all glad I'm gone!" Naruto shouted. "Not all of them hate you… Like us," Sasuke said. "Yeah, but most of them do! Lately you guys haven't exactly been the perfect pair of friends! Whenever I helped you, you would just be on your way without thanking me," Naruto said with a bit of sadness.

"Naruto… Look, we know your not having the best time of you life but you have friends in Konoha that want to help—," before Neji could finish Naruto yelled, "I SAID I DIDN'T WANT TO GO BACK TO KONOHA! KONOHA—AND EVERYONE WHO LIVES THERE—CAN GO TO HELL FOR ALL I CARE!" Inside Naruto's mind Kyuubi laughed an evil laughter. When Naruto got like this it would only be a matter of time before he would release a fraction of him—causing Naruto to become the four-tailed Kyuubi.

_Naruto's one hard eggshell to crack… How troublesome,_ Shikamaru thought with a sigh. _There's gotta be a way to make Naruto happier,_ Chouji thought,_ A-ha! That's perfect!_ "Naruto, through all the anger you have your just really in a sad state. Once we get back to Konoha Sakura will cheer you up!" said Chouji. The thought of Sakura made Naruto a little angry. "I don't give a damn about Sakura," Naruto said to everyone's surprise/shock, "considering that she doesn't either! It's always Sasuke with her! Sasuke this! Sasuke that! Sasuke this, that, and the other! No matter what I do, or did, to try and impress her, I always fail! Nothing could ever get through her thick forehead except if it had something to do with Sasuke!"

"Besides… now I have new AND BETTER friends. And they all know how I feel because they've experienced it too!" Naruto added. Then his mind was filled with painful and unwanted memories. Sasuke looked into Naruto's eyes and saw that his anger was slowly being replaced with sadness. Neji also noticed the change in Naruto's facial expression. "We all have had a painful past, Naruto. You're not the only one," said Sasuke. "You're right! Besides me, there are seven more!" Naruto replied, (a/n: He said 7 b/c Gaara's the Kazekage and Gaara likes protecting Suna—along with the rest of the Wind Country) "three of them just so happened to be my friends."

Sasuke let out a depressed sigh. They were all running out of plans to persuade Naruto back into Konoha. Until an idea came up in Sasuke's mind. He didn't know if Naruto would reply, or if it would make him upset, but he had to take the risk of asking who Naruto's 'friends' were. "Just who are these so-called friends of yours, Naruto?" asked Sasuke. "None of your business! One thing I'll tell you is that they all have something sealed inside them that they've been hated, feared, and falsely punished because of," Naruto replied. _Slowly but surely he's starting to give us some info,_ Sasuke said and glance over at Neji, Chouji, Shikamaru, and Kiba.

Sasuke gave them an _are-you-getting-this _look and they nodded. "But Naruto, you have no place to go. Maybe you and your new friends should come with us back to—," Sasuke said before he was cut off by Naruto saying, "Our home is the Bijuu 9 base!" _Bijuu 9, eh? Will get some info on them later, _Shikamaru thought. _Now what should we do to get Naruto back?_ Kiba thought. _Something that'll definitely make him want to go back to Konoha despite the fact that he hates the place._ As if Neji had read Kiba's mind, he said, "What about Hinata-sama or Iruka-sensei?"

The thought of those two people made Naruto's heart skip a beat. _Hinata-chan and Iruka-sensei? Hinata _had_ always been extremely nice to me… Iruka was like a father to me, too,_ Naruto thought as he gazed up at the sky. "It's working," Chouji whispered to Shikamaru. "Hinata-chan… And Iruka-sensei… they're both people… who are precious to me," Naruto said softly but loud enough for Sasuke and the others to hear. "So will you come back with us?" Kiba asked.

As soon as Kiba said that, Kyuubi started a conversation with Naruto. **_"Are you sure, little boy?"_ **he heard Kyuubi say to him. **_"Staying in a village that ignored your existence?"_** Naruto remained silent. **_"A village that hated you from the start, and blamed you for the Fourth's death? _**Naruto thought that, that was unfair. **_"A village who's adults told their children not to play with you because you were a FREAK? A village that you never had parents to be with you? Not a mother who's shoulder you could cry on when you're sad? Or a father who would always be there to make things right?_** Naruto clenched his fist; he gritted his teeth, and shut his eyes tightly.

Kyuubi's plan to keep Naruto away from Konoha was working. _**"Sure all of your friends **say** they care, but do they mean it? Will they really be there when you're sad? Will they really be there to calm you down when you're angry? Will they risk their lives for you in missions? I think not… little boy,"**_ Kyuubi said with another evil laugh. **_"Some of the adults might still brainwash their children into thinking you're a bad person. Soon you'll be hated again and again. The cycle will be repeated,"_** Kyuubi told Naruto. "Shut… up," Naruto murmured. All of his former friends had confused looks on their faces; what was wrong with Naruto?

_**"Even if one day you find the right women to bear your children, they'll just be hated. They'll be seen as me, just like you. They'll be treated unfair, feared by kids their own age, and beaten worse than you were. And no matter where you go once you tell every one who you **really **are they will always deny your existence since **they **don't know what it's like to carry a demon. ESPECIALLY Konoha—the village that denied you from the start!"** _ Kyuubi said as his last sentence.

Unfortunately, Kyuubi's words had gotten to Naruto. His words made sense to Naruto. Those words cut a huge whole in Naruto's heart. Those words were worse than 1,000 kunai knives being plunged into Naruto's back. This made Naruto angrier and angrier.

"I said… SHUT THE HELL UP!" Naruto yelled and his outburst made everyone flinch. "NO! THERE IS NO WAY I'M GOING BACK TO KONOHA! I'LL ALWAYS HATE THAT PLACE UNTIL THE DAY IT'S DESTROYED! I'M NOT GOING BACK TO BE HATED AGAIN; TO FEEL MORE PAIN!" Naruto made hand signs for the _Shadow Clone_ jutsu. "Shikamaru! He's going to escape!" Sasuke yelled to him. Quickly Shikamaru made hand signs for his _Shadow Possession _jutsu. But it was too late

Naruto had made 60 clones of himself. They were running around like crazy until they split up in different directions. "Neji," Sasuke said as he activated his Byakugan. "Can you find Naruto!?" Neji searched the large crowd of Naruto clones that were disappearing in opposite directions. Finally, all the clones were gone. "Did you find which direction the _real_ Naruto went in?" Chouji asked Neji. Neji shook his head disapprovingly. "Damn," Shikamaru cursed, "how troublesome…"

"Well, at least we have some info to report back to Godaime-sama," said Sasuke, "the mission to get Naruto back was definitely a failure, but we do have some data on his whereabouts." The others nodded and followed the leader of the mission back to Konoha.

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Naruto just made it back to the Bijuu 9 base. His eyes were rimmed red and were flooded with tears. Kyuubi's words were just about true. Naruto couldn't get the images of him being mistreated when he was younger out of his head. He then lay down on a couch in the Bijuu 9 base's living room, trying to get some rest and forget about the day. Just as Naruto was about to take a trip on the Snooze Train, Tekirai, Subaru, and Inumoka just got back.

They all went into the living room where Naruto was laying sadly on the couch. "Naruto-kun?" Tekirai said and kneeled down beside the couch. "Is there something bothering you?" At first Naruto didn't reply, but then he said, "No… I'm okay… I was just thinking about my early childhood."

Tekirai hugged Naruto. "It's okay to feel sad, _ototo_," she said. (a/n: I'm sure you all know ototo means 'younger/little brother') "Yeah, you can always tell us _anything_," Subaru added. "Most of the time we like to think about now and what will happen in the future. Thinking about the past is… upsetting. Don't hesitate to ask us any questions," said Inumoka. Naruto let out a small laugh and said, "Thanks… you guys really are my new family."

(a/n: Hope ya liked it! I would've updated today, the day I finished—11/14/06—but my Internet wasn't working. Please be nice on the reviews. Oh, and if you have any questions, comments, concerns or advice, don't hesitate to ask. Plus, if you're a Naru/Saku fan, you're in the wrong fanfic! Well, I'll try to update soon, sayonara!)


	11. Back In Konoha

(Here's what we've all been waiting for: CHAPTER 11!!! Let's take it back to the Konoha Crew; see what they're doing; how they feel; if they miss Naruto and what not. First half is gonna be Hinata's point of view))

Hinata's P/O/V

It's been three days since Naruto-kun has left. _I wonder if Sasuke's been able to get him back,_ I thought as Sakura and I walked to Konoha Hospital. This was our third time going there to heal the ANBU ninja that got attacked by Naruto.

Usually Naruto-kun is an exciting, hyperactive, over-confident, and a willing person. But that all changed when we found the ANBU ninjas. They were beaten badly. They were also in a state of shock before we found them. The way they described their battle with Naruto-kun also sounded hard to believe. The way they described the battle was… brutal.

In the back of my mind was a voice. That voice repeatedly whispered to me, _"Hinata… Naruto is coming back."_ That's what I really wanted to believe; to have some faith in Neji, Sasuke, Chouji, Kiba, and Shikamaru. But I couldn't believe in those words.

In the front of my mind there was another voice. That voice was more powerful and told me again and again, _"You'll never see Naruto again. He's never coming back to Konoha… to you."_ That voice lowered my confidence and made me want to cry.

The day Naruto-kun left… When he gave me that hug… In a way he was saying to me, "Good-bye forever. I'll miss you." I'd miss him too. Every time I cried, I would always think of how stupid I am. Even though it was obvious, I could've confessed my love for Naruto when we were younger or at that moment. I never did.

I had all that time but I kept thinking Naruto would reject me. Now, back then, it all seems meaningless. All I wanted to do now was say those three simple words to him; Naruto, _I love you_.

"I love you… Naruto-kun," I whispered to myself as a stream of tears ran down my eyes. Sakura noticed this and tried to cheer me up. "Hinata-chan, Sasuke and his team will definitely come back with Naruto. I promise," she said.

Sakura knew she shouldn't keep a promise she couldn't guarantee. All I did was wipe the tears from my eyes and nod approvingly. _If Naruto-kun does come back, _I thought, _I want to tell him those three _simple_ words… Naruto-kun, I love you._

Out of Hinata's P/O/V

Hinata and Sakura walked up to the hospital entrance. They quickly got dressed into their nurse outfits and went to the rooms of the ANBU nin. Sakura took care of three of the ANBUs while Hinata took care of the other two.

Hinata went into a room labeled _206_. "Good-morning, Daizo-san," Hinata said as she went into the room with the necessary medical equipment along with a tray of breakfast. One of the ANBU ninjas—also the ANBU Captain of his squad—was Ikameshi Daizo. "Good-morning Hinata," Daizo replied.

"After you eat breakfast I'll add some medicine to your wounds and replace the old bandages with new ones," Hinata said placing the food in front of him. "Itadakimasu," said Daizo before he ate the food. "So, Daizo-san, are you feeling any better?" asked Hinata. "Much, thanks to you. I thought those wounds that were inflicted by the demon-child would never heal. But your medic-nin skills are great! I'd say you're at par with Godaime-sama!" Daizo replied. Even though Daizo complimented Hinata, she still didn't like him—or anyone—calling Naruto _demon-child_. Hinata decided not to show it, though, and went on with her work.

After she was finished with Daizo she headed to room _209_. "Zen-chan? Are you awake?" Hinata said coming in with the same tray of medicine but another tray of food. "Hmm?" Zen said looking up from the magazine she was reading. Hatsuro Zen was the only female ninja in her group, and the youngest being only one year younger than Hinata. "Oh, hi there Hinata!" Zen said with a warm smile that matched Hinata's.

Hinata placed the tray of food down by Zen and she immediately ate it. "Zen," Hinata said while putting ointment on Zen's 4th scar, "are you feeling better today?" Wincing in pain after being dabbed with the ointment, Zen nodded. "That Uzumaki kid really put the hurt on my squad… Why Daizo-taicho yelled _demon-child_ to him I'll never know," Zen said. "If Daizo didn't Uzumaki-san would probably still be in Konoha and we wouldn't be in the hospital." Hinata sighed sadly and said, "Don't worry, he'll be back, I'm sure."

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"Lee-san—I mean—Lee-sensei, why can't Neji-sensei teach us today?" Rubi, one of Neji's students, asked. (a/n: Neji, in the 3 yr. time skip, _is_ a JOUNIN, right? If he isn't, then he is in my story!)) "Yeah! Neji-sensei said he was gonna teach us a new taijutsu move," her teammate, Toboe, added. There remaining teammate, Ao, only nodded.

"Well, you see, I'm one of Neji's teammates," Rock Lee started. "That doesn't answer Rubi or Toboe's question, bushy-brows," Ao said flatly. "I wasn't finished! Neji, along with four other ninja, are on a mission. Until Neji gets back I'm your temporary sensei," Lee responded.

"Heh, sensei? The only sensei we need is Neji! If we don't have him then _I_ should be team leader," Toboe said. "If anyone would be team leader Neji-sensei would pick me!" Rubi stated.

Soon Rubi and Toboe were fighting back-and-forth about whom Neji would pick if there were to be a temporary team leader. Lee rubbed his temples then shouted, "IF THERE WAS GOING TO BE ANY TEMPORARY TEAM SENSEI IT'D BE AO! BUT I AM, AND UNTIL NEJI GETS BACK YOU WILL DO WHAT I SAY!" This made the genins flinch.

"Now, to start off the day, 250 LAPS AROUND KONOHA! NOW LET'S HOP TO IT!" Lee yelled in an energetic tone and ran ahead. At first Rubi, Ao, and Toboe did nothing until Lee shouted, "DID I STAMMER? LET'S GET TO THOSE LAPS CHILDREN!" Toboe, Ao, and Rubi immediately obeyed. _Until Naruto gets back, which I hope he does, I think I'll like being their sensei. Just until I have a squad of my own!_ Lee thought.

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While most of the old Rookie 9 was taking the day off, our favorite bug-boy, Aburame Shino, was doing some work. Even though Shino had nothing to do with the Naruto Retrieval mission, it didn't mean he couldn't help out.

Shino was looking around Konoha, searching for a certain bug that had Naruto's scent. That bug was a 'bikochu.' The one that he, his teammates, and Naruto had found to get Sasuke back by getting his scent but it accidentally got Naruto's instead. If only he actually_ knew_ where it had gone, his search would be a lot easier. _I just hope I can find it in enough time,_ Shino thought.

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Naruto was finishing the last sentence in his second letter. "There, that ought to do it!" he said with a tone of happiness but his happy expression soon turned to a sad one. "I'm sorry, you two," Naruto murmured sadly. "Summoning Jutsu!" As soon as Naruto yelled that a small fox summon appeared.

"Listen up Kitsukoke," Naruto said to the fox, "I need you to deliver these letters." Naruto showed Kitsukoke two letters; one was lavender and the other was light green. "This lavender one goes to a girl named Hyuuga Hinata, can you remember that?" Naruto asked the small fox and it yipped happily. "The other one, the _green_ one, goes to a man named Umino Iruka. Okay?" Kitsukoke understood every thing Naruto said.

Naruto tied the two letters to Kitsukoke's left front leg. "Take these letters to both of them. They live in Konoha; about 10 to 15 kilometers from here. Head north Kitsukoke," Naruto said and the fox left. _Hope they get those letters,_ Naruto thought and went back to training on the _Dirt Spikes _jutsu for the 12th time.

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"Hey, I have an idea! When Naruto comes back we'll throw him a surprise party!" Tenten said to Ino, Sakura, and Hinata after taken a bite of her chocolate ice-cream cone. They were all sitting in a booth at Konoha's Ice-Cream Parlor. "That's a great idea," Sakura said after finishing off her strawberry ice-cream. "Yeah… great," Hinata said sadly as she looked down at her orange-vanilla swirl ice-cream which she hadn't touched. "Cheer up, Hinata-chan. Sasuke, Shikamaru, and the others will surely come back with Naruto," Ino assured.

Just as Ino said that the parlor's owner yelled something about a fox. To Hinata, Sakura, Ino, and Tenten's surprise, a fox carrying two letters leaped into Hinata's lap. At first the group was startled but then they quickly started to snuggle the little adorable fox. Kitsukoke yipped happily about getting so much attention. Then he remembered the letters.

He pulled on the lavender letter then gave it to Hinata. "What's this?" said Hinata as she silently read the letter.

_Dear Hinata,_

_I'm sorry. I'm really, truly sorry. I can't come back to Konoha. That village hated me, and for what? If I told you, you probably wouldn't like me as much as I like you right now. I always tried to help, but nothing would work. Not now, not then, not ever. So it's better this way. I'm sure the other villagers agree, too. Don't worry, I found new friends and they've had the same experience as me. We're all in a better—and safer—place now. Maybe one day we'll meet again. Until then good-bye._

_Love,_

_Naruto_

"Naruto-kun," Hinata murmured and cried onto the paper. "Hinata, what's the matter?" Tenten asked. She showed them the paper and they all had looks of disbelief. "Say Hinata, maybe it's—," before Ino could finish Hinata, and Kitsukoke, were gone.

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Iruka had just ordered his class to do 12 laps around the field. "No questions until your finished or unless it's an emergency," Iruka called out to them. When he turned around he was surprised to see a small fox holding a green note in its mouth. "Guess this is for me," said Iruka as he kneeled down to take the note.

_Dear Iruka,_

_Hi there, sensei. I just wanted to say, I'm not coming back to Konoha. I CAN'T come back to Konoha. Not after what I've been through… But you don't have to worry! I have new friends, and they understand what I've been through. We're in a safe place where no one will worry or hate us. I also want to let you know, you'll always be like a father to me. No one else could be a better role-model than you. One day we might see each other again… one day. _

_Your Son,_

_Naruto_

Iruka couldn't hold the tears in his eyes. "Naruto… You'll always be like a son to me," Iruka murmured just as Kitsukoke left.

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Sasuke, Neji, Shikamaru, Kiba, Akamaru, and Chouji had just arrived in Konoha two days later. The villagers were glad to see them back. Some were even glad Naruto wasn't with them…

"Sasuke-kun!" the group heard a girl call his name. Sasuke turned around and let out a sigh of disgust as Sakura wrapped her arms around him. "Where's Naruto, Sasuke-kun?" she asked. _So now she cares,_ Sasuke thought. "If you'll excuse us, Sakura, we have a mission to report to Tsunade-sama," Sasuke said without answering her question. Before she had a chance to say anything else, the group was already heading towards Hokage Tower.

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Tsunade was looking at a bunch of D-ranked and C-ranked missions when she and Shizune heard a knock on the door. "Come in," they said. Sasuke, Neji, Kiba, Chouji, and Shikamaru came into the room. "Ah! You guys are back! So, what info do you have about your mission?" Tsunade asked. "We have some news, some _bad, troublesome_ news," Shikamaru said.

"What's the bad news?" Shizune asked. "The bad news is, we couldn't get Naruto back," said Neji as Shizune and Tsunade sighed. "But we do know that Naruto's apart of a group called the _Bijuu 9_. We're hoping to get some more info on that," Sasuke said. "_Bijuu 9_? I suppose there are more of them, right?" Tsunade asked. "Yeah… I think Naruto said there were three of 'em," Chouji replied. "Do you know their names?" Tsunade asked. "Unfortunately no; Naruto didn't say a thing. He did say that they've all been treated the same way. I guess Naruto was referring to his past," Kiba responded. "Well, until we get more data about this, Bijuu 9 place, you guys are dismissed," Tsunade said.

Sasuke, Neji, Kiba, Shikamaru, and Chouji left the room. "You'll think we'll get him back," Shizune said as she picked up Tonton. "Maybe," Tsunade replied with a sigh, "Hopefully it won't take three years this time…"

(Hope ya liked it! Listen, I know it might be short but think about it this way: Shorter chapters make more chapters! Okay, that doesn't make sense… But if I do make short chapters, I'll have more time to write more chapters to add to the story! 'Cause I actually finished this chapter on 11/16/06… Also, I suppose you people have noticed that when I referred to Shikamaru, Kiba, Neji, and the rest of the group, that I put Sasuke's name first… If ya wanna know why, go to my profile! Hehehe… Well, see ya when I update chapter 12!)


	12. Set Up

(a/n: Here we go, chapter 12! After I finished chapter 11 I immediately started to type the 12th. Sooo, enjoy!)

Naruto was training on the 5th jutsu from the earth scroll. The 4th one was _Doton: Tsuchi Bushin no Jutsu_. (Earth Element: Earth Clone Jutsu) That made four of five clones from the ground. Now he was working on a jutsu called _Doton: Chiri Yama no Jutsu_ for the 3rd time. (Earth Element: Dirt Mountain Jutsu) The jutsu created a mound of dirt about 50 feet high. It would make a great distraction jutsu or it could become a useful fighting/training area.

"Naruto!" he heard someone call. He saw that it was Subaru. "Hey," he yelled back, "what's up?" Subaru ran over where the panting Naruto was. "Nothing, how about you, champ?" she asked and handed him a water bottle. For the last five days, Subaru had nicknamed Naruto _champ_ because she admired how full of confidence he was; he really had the heart of a champion.

"Ya got some news for me?" asked Naruto after his third sip of water. "As a matter of fact, I do. Start packing your bags, because we have a mission!" she told him. "ALL RIGHT, A MISSION!" Naruto yelled jumping up and down as Subaru chuckled at his energetic behavior.

A few hours later Naruto headed outside of the Bijuu 9 base to meet Inumoka, Tekirai, and Subaru. "Inumoka-kun, what's the mission about?" he asked. "It's pretty simple. If I were to make it a mission, I'd say it's a D-ranked one," Inumoka replied and Naruto frowned.

"Ah man, I thought this was gonna be something B or A-ranked," Naruto whined. "Don't worry, Naruto-kun! We'll go on an A-ranked mission together. But this one was the only Subaru could find," Tekirai told him. "Com'on people, our clients are waiting," Subaru said and the four teenagers left.

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"Hey, ojiisan, when is that _pretty_ girl going to come here," a young boy with light blue hair named Seto asked. "Don't worry, she'll be here. She also said she was bringing friends," said an old man named Kotoke. "I can't wait ojiisan! Subaru-oneechan seemed really nice," and dark green hair colored girl named Kira said.

While the traveling family was talking, Naruto, Subaru, Inumoka, and Tekirai had just arrived. "Subaru-oneechan!" Seto and Kira yelled as they ran over and hugged her. "Hey, nice to see you guys too!" Subaru replied. "Uhh, Inumoka-kun, what did you say this mission was about again?" Naruto asked. "We're helping these guys move to the Hidden Waterfall village, remember?" Inumoka replied. Naruto swallowed hard and said, "They sure do have a lot of stuff…"

To make things easier, Naruto made seven other clones to help carry the boxes. Soon they were all headed for the Hidden Waterfall village. "Sorry old man, I don't have a map… You sure you can find your way?" Inumoka asked. "Of course! I've been traveling with my adopted grandchildren ever since they were no older than three and six!" Kotoke replied.

"Yeah, we've been to the Hidden Waterfall village before! It's so nice there," said Kira. _That is, until me and Seto showed up, _Kira thought and smiled innocently.

On their way to the Waterfall village, Naruto, Subaru, Inumoka and Tekirai were chatting with Kotoke, Kira, and Seto. They talked a bit about their pasts; places they've been to, and people they've met. Of course, they didn't say anything about the demons sealed inside them. Kotoke already knew, but he decided not to say anything to his 'grandchildren'.

"It sure does take awhile to get to Waterfall," Naruto said walking in a tired way. "Maybe we should take a rest?" Tekirai suggested and the others agreed. While they all ate lunch, Inumoka couldn't help but feel strange.

"What's the matter, Inumoka-kun?" Tekirai asked. Her face filled with concern for her friend. "I don't know… Before I met you and Subaru, I remember when I was around 10 that I took a trip to Waterfall. It might've been about seven years ago, but I can't help but feel like it didn't take this long to get there," Inumoka replied.

"Also, from where we are, I'm pretty sure we should've headed west instead of east," Inumoka finished. "Maybe this is a short-cut. Kotoke said they've been traveling for awhile. They've probably been to Waterfall a couple of times," Tekirai responded.

Her theory did make sense to Inumoka, but he couldn't get that strange vibe out of him. Maybe Tekirai was right, but if they were taking a short-cut, shouldn't they have still gone west? "Something's wrong here," Inumoka muttered when Tekirai went over to talk to Subaru.

"Is everyone ready?" Kotoke asked. Seto and Kira stopped tickling Naruto and nodded. After Naruto stopped laughing he said yes. Subaru and Tekirai were all set. Now they were waiting for Inumoka who had just muttered a yes. "All right, let's move out," Kotoke commanded and the group headed east.

While they walked, Seto went up to Kira. "Is it time yet?" he asked her in a whisper. "No way man! We still gotta get them farther," Kira replied. "Why didn't we think of this before?" Seto said with a smile. "What's all this _we_ stuff? It was _my_ plan you jackass! Leader will surely be pleased, he'll probably pay me," Kira replied. "I hate being your partner," Seto muttered and walked ahead. Kotoke just flashed them a smirk while Inumoka still felt uneasy.

_Okay, I've had it,_ Inumoka thought. "Stop!" Inumoka yelled. Naruto, Tekirai, and Subaru—who were walking behind Inumoka—had puzzled looks on their faces. Kotoke, Kira, and Seto scowled at him. "What's going on here? Something doesn't feel right… Start explaining!" Inumoka shouted at Kotoke. "Why should he be explaining?" Kira asked as a POOF-cloud appeared around her and Seto.

Inumoka wasted no time as he made hand signs then shouted, "_Doton: Tsuchi Kabe no Jutsu_!" (Earth Element: Earth Wall Jutsu) Behind him was a wall that rose from the ground that was at least 45 meters long and 30 meters high. "Hey! Inumoka! What's the big deal!?" Naruto yelled but his voice was muffled since it was being blocked from the wall. Just as the clouds disappeared, they revealed to men in a black cloak with red clouds. Those were none other then the Akatsuki members, Hidan and Kakuzu.

"Well, at least we got the Bijuu we were assigned to. The others would've just been a bonus," Kakuzu—who was once Kira—said. (a/n: I don't really know who Kakuzu and Hidan are supposed to get but let's just go with Inumoka's Bijuu, Gobi) "Inumoka-kun! Where's Kira, Seto, and Kotoke!" Tekirai shouted but her voice was filled with fright. "Seto and Kira don't even exist little girl," Hidan replied. "You," Inumoka shouted to Kotoke, "Kotoke—if that's your _real_ name—how could you trick us this way?"

Kotoke just chuckled. "For money," he responded. "MONEY!?" Inumoka gawked in disbelief. "Of course! These two promised me 14,000 ryou! 14,000! I couldn't pass on an offer like that. They also said that if I got any other Bijuu vessel, that they'd pay me 3,000 more for each one. I won't just be getting rich; I'd be riding the world of the demons!" Kotoke exclaimed. "Err… bastard!" Inumoka shouted. Before you could say all nine Bijuu, Inumoka was in a fierce battle with Hidan and Kakuzu.

Tekirai, Naruto, and Subaru couldn't do a thing to help. All they could do is here the sound of the battle; but then it stopped. The fight was over, and Kakuzu and Hidan had won. They had beaten Inumoka up so badly that he can hardly move. Until finally, he just passed out. "What a weakling!" Kakuzu said as he flung Inumoka over his shoulder. Hidan and Kakuzu were about to leave until Kotoke stopped them.

"Hey," Kotoke yelled angrily, "what about my payment? Without me, that Inumoka kid wouldn't be here!" Kakuzu just smirked and said, "Oh yeah, your payment… Say Hidan, would ya like to do the honors?" "Certainly," Hidan said then did a quick prayer. "It is only a kill," he murmured. "Hey…! What the…!" before Kotoke could finish Hidan cut him in two. "Tch, like we would really reward someone," Kakuzu said and the two Akatsuki members ran away.

Naruto was tired of being behind a wall and missing all the action. Soon he summoned one of his clones to help him make one of his best jutsu's. "RASENGAN!" Naruto yelled as Rasengan collided with the earth wall. Soon every part of the earth wall had crumbled into debris.

"Inumoka!" Naruto yelled. The group saw no one. They were obviously tricked. So was Kotoke, since he was killed. The only thing Naruto was able to find was Inumoka's black bandana. "Inumoka-kun… he's gone," Tekirai muttered then cried onto Subaru's shoulder. "It's okay Tekirai-chan, will be able to get him back. I know we will; it isn't too late," Subaru said.

"Inumoka… niisan," Naruto said and clenched the hand with Inumoka's bandana in it tightly. Naruto really respected Inumoka. Much like he _used _to respect Sasuke. The respect that a younger sibling would have for their older brother. Naruto knew he didn't want Inumoka to die. And he wasn't about to let that happen because of some freaks in pajamas!

"Tekirai, Subaru," said Naruto, his tone serious. Both girls looked at Naruto with faces of bewilderment. "I'll get Inumoka back, I promise."

(a/n: Oh yeah! Serious Naruto! Hope liked this chapter. This one I finished on 11/17/06! Like I said, my Internet's down and I don't know when it'll be fixed. But when it does, expect to have a few new chapters up! Well, better start typing up Ch. 13! Until then, sayonara!)


	13. I'll Get Inumoka Back!

From where Hidan and Kakuzu had fought Inumoka, getting back to Akatsuki would take at least eight days. This gave Naruto more than enough time to try and catch up with them. Thanks to the fact that they—Naruto, Subaru, etc—thought they were on a real mission, there was no need to pack.

"Is… Naruto-kun _really_ going to find Inumoka-kun?" Tekirai said. "Sure he is. Naruto is one of a kind," Subaru replied. Subaru walked up to Naruto who was just about to leave. "Naruto, are you sure you don't want us to come with you? Will you be okay?" she asked. "Don't worry, Subaru-chan, I've fought an Akatsuki member when I was protecting the 5th Kazekage!" Naruto told her. "Okay… good luck," said Subaru.

Naruto nodded and started to walk away. "Naruto, wait!" Tekirai said and ran up to him. "Please, please make it back okay," she said and hugged him. "I will, and Inumoka will be with me too," Naruto said as he returned Tekirai's hug. A few minutes later Naruto was out of sight. "Naruto really is a bold person," Subaru murmured.

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Inumoka woke up. His head was pounding like someone was repeatedly punching it. _Where am I?_ he thought and looked around. Then he sniffed the air. _What in the world is that smell…? Wait a minute… it's blood,_ he thought. The blood that covered his clothes when he got beat up by Kakuzu and Hidan.

_Where am I? What time is it?_ he thought. The only reason he was thinking is because he felt something tied in front of his mouth. When Inumoka tried to move his arms and hands, they were tied tightly, too. So were his legs and feet. Even though it hurt, Inumoka tried to open his eyes. When he did, it was night time. Both Akatsuki members were asleep. He decided that the only thing that mattered was getting back to the Bijuu 9 base so he tried to loosen the ropes.

It didn't work. Every time Inumoka tried, the ropes would just cut his skin. It was almost as if they were triple knotted. Inumoka let out a sigh of defeat. _There's gotta be a way out of this,_ he thought. "Well look who's awake!" he heard someone say.

He looked up as high as he could to see Kakuzu. Inumoka muttered a curse but it couldn't be heard since his mouth was tied with a cloth. "If only you could see how pathetic you look," Kakuzu said as he took off the cloth from Inumoka's mouth. Inumoka coughed a few times then shouted, "Where the hell are my friends? What did you do with them? What are you going to do to me? Where am I? START ANSWERING!" Kakuzu chuckled at how many questions Inumoka was asking him.

"You sure do ask a lot of questions… Why don't you just sit tight and shut the hell up? Your life will be over soon anyway," Kakuzu replied. "I said, where the—," before Inumoka could finish Kakuzu grabbed the collar of his shirt and backslapped him. "Didn't you just hear me? Your questions don't need to be answered and when we extract Gobi from you, you'll be dead," Kakuzu said then let Inumoka drop to the ground with a _thud_.

Inumoka spit the blood out of his mouth. "Son of a bitch," Inumoka muttered. _I know my friends are worried. But they probably won't be able to find me… Maybe it's better that they don't look for me; they'll be safer that way,_ Inumoka thought.

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Naruto was a few miles away from where Tekirai and Subaru were. "Okay fox, time to help me out," Naruto said and began to meditate.

_"Kyuubi, where are you? I need your help!" Naruto said. **"Help with what?"** Kyuubi demanded. "I need you to help me find Inumoka. He's the vessel of Gobi. You think you can find Gobi?" Naruto asked. **"Why would I do that?"** said Kyuubi. _

"_Because if I don't find Inumoka then Akatsuki will extract Gobi from him and he'll die!" Naruto explained. **"Let him die," **Kyuubi replied. **"Gobi was always a pain in my ass before we were sent to this world only to be sealed into newborn babies."** Naruto let out an angered sigh._

_"You don't understand you damn fox! Inumoka _isn't_ Gobi! Just help me find him, okay? I won't bother you again unless it's a REAL emergency," Naruto begged. **"Fine," **the demon fox muttered. Minutes later Kyuubi found the location of Gobi._

_**"Gobi is two kilometers west, four miles north. Now go bother someone else,"** Kyuubi said._

Naruto climbed to his feet and headed in the direction Kyuubi told him. "I knew that fox would be useful," Naruto whispered to himself. It took him at least two hours until he was on the right trail; the trail that would lead him to Inumoka.

Naruto stopped behind a bush when he saw Kakuzu come to a halt suddenly. "What's the problem?" Hidan asked. "Take him," Kakuzu said handing Inumoka to Hidan, "someone's been following us." As soon as Kakuzu said that Naruto gulped. _Crap! He's found out,_ Naruto thought. "If you show yourself now, we'll go easy on you," Kakuzu said.

Naruto figured he had no other choice so he jumped out from behind the bush. "Well, well… What've we got here? A dog-brat and a fox-twerp," Kakuzu mocked. "Err, let Inumoka go!" Naruto yelled. "NARUTO! NO! GO AWAY! ESCAPE! LEAVE ME, IT'S OKAY!" Inumoka replied.

"Com'on, the sooner we get back to Akatsuki the sooner we can shut this guy up," Hidan said and kicked Inumoka in the stomach hard enough to make him pass out. "Oh I'll leave all right, but with Inumoka with me!" said Naruto.

"Is this kid for real? A genin punk taking on TWO S-ranked criminals? He must be thick in the head to have challenged us," Kakuzu said. (a/n: I'm not one to make fight scenes and I'm not making a Naruto vs. Hidan and Kakuzu b/c I DON'T KNOW WHAT KAKUZU AND HIDAN USE! Sorry for those who expected a fight.) Soon Naruto began a fight with Kakuzu. Minutes later Hidan joined the fight, too.

It was bad enough to face one Akatsuki member. _Two_ was just _too _much for Naruto_ to _handle. Naruto was lucky to be one of two people to survive some of Hidan's attacks. (a/n: The other person is Asuma. I _know_ Asuma dies in the manga BUT I started writing this story BEFORE that happen… So in this, let's just all pretend Asuma's still alive) Kakuzu joining the fight wasn't helping.

Naruto was about to give in. He couldn't bear to fight those two any longer. Naruto's original plan was to get Inumoka back, not fight Akatsuki members. Then an idea came up in Naruto's mind. Maybe he could help Inumoka escape, and then see if they can both form a plan to get a way from Hidan and Kakuzu. Soon they'd be at the Bijuu 9, back to their 'normal' lives.

"Hope this works," Naruto whispered then summoned nine clones. Eight of them started to fight Kakuzu and Hidan hand-to-hand. Naruto and another one of his clones went over to grab Inumoka. "Naruto, did you come alone?" Inumoka asked in a whisper after he regained consciousness. "Yeah, I didn't want Tekirai and Subaru to get involved," Naruto said cutting the ropes around Inumoka limbs off. "Much better," Inumoka said rubbing his wrists. "Com'on Inumoka, it's only a matter of time before they defeat my clones," Naruto said as the two softly crept away.

"Hidan! They're escaping!" Kakuzu yelled after destroying Naruto's 9th clone. Hidan quickly used his scythe to cut off part of Inumoka's arm. "GAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Inumoka yelled and held his bleeding stub of an arm. "Inumoka!" Naruto yelled and went over to him. "Naruto, leave me! Go and escape! Hurry," Inumoka instructed him but Naruto shook his head. "No way, not without you, niisan," Naruto said.

The 8th jutsu on the scroll of earth jutsu's was the one Inumoka used earlier. _Earth Wall Jutsu_ was what Naruto was going to use to help them escape. "_Doton: Tsuchi Kabe no Jutsu_!" Naruto yelled and an earth wall rose from the ground. It was the exact length and width of the one Inumoka made. "Damn it!" Kakuzu said. Naruto flung Inumoka—who had passed out, again, due to blood loss—over his shoulder and hurried away, Just as Hidan destroyed the wall.

"Leader will not be happy," Hidan muttered. "Damn, we were so close this time," Kakuzu replied. "Looks like will just have to go back to the base empty-handed," said Hidan and they both disappeared in a POOF-cloud.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto stopped on a tree branch to lay Inumoka down. "Gotta stop the bleeding," Naruto murmured and reached into his waist pack to pull out a small towel to stop Inumoka's bleeding. "N-Naruto…? Is that you…? Where are we?" Inumoka said in a confused tone. "Yeah it's me, and don't worry. We got away from those Akatsuki freaks," Naruto replied. "Oh, now I remember… Say, you were pretty good Naruto-kun," Inumoka commented. "Thanks!" Naruto said.

Soon their happy moment turned into a frightened one. "Now, which way do we… MY ARM!? WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO MY ARM!?" Inumoka shouted loud enough for the whole world to hear. "Inumoka! Inumoka! Calm down! I'm sure—," before Naruto could finish he saw Inumoka groaning in pain. Right before both of their eyes a yellowish kind of chakra was forming around Inumoka's arm. It took them awhile to realize it, but Inumoka's arm was regenerating!

Inumoka's arm was as good as new. But it felt a little limp so he didn't use it right away. **_"Be thankful, little pup,"_** Gobi said to Inumoka. "Okay, back to the Bijuu 9 base!" Naruto yelled. Even though he was tired as heck, he offered to carry Inumoka back.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Two hours later, outside Bijuu 9 Base:_ "Oh, I'm so worried! What if Naruto didn't get there in enough time? What if he got hurt? WHAT IF INUMOKA'S DEAD!?" Tekirai shouted. "Calm down Tekirai-chan… I'm sure they'll be back," Subaru said. As if by magic, Subaru was right. In the distance she saw Naruto—a little beat up—carrying Inumoka walking in their direction. "Tekirai, look, it's Naruto! He's got Inumoka back!" Subaru shouted.

Tekirai's sad expression turned into a happy and grateful one. Soon she and Subaru were running over to Inumoka and Naruto. "Hey! Inumoka-niisan, we're back," Naruto said to him. "Hn…? What happened?" Inumoka replied sleepily since he had fallen asleep. "Inumoka-kun!" Inumoka heard two girls yell. Right away he felt much better and hopped off of Naruto's back. Inumoka was hugged tightly by Subaru and Tekirai until they decided to hug Naruto.

Tekirai hugged Naruto the longest. "Naruto! Thank you SO much! I thought I was never going to see you or Inumoka ever again!" she said as tears of joy streamed down her eyes. "I'd help you any time, neesan," Naruto replied.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto went to bed the earliest. After fighting two Akatsuki members, and saving Inumoka, it was time for a rest. Naruto had used almost every jutsu Jiraiya had taught him and some that he learned from the earth scroll Inumoka gave him. Hidan and Kakuzu had both experience and skill; Naruto didn't think he could hold out much longer. In the end, everything turned out great.

"Naruto's definitely one of a kind," Subaru said to Inumoka and Tekirai after taking a sip of her tea. They were in the Bijuu 9 base's den. "Yeah, he can show true leadership at times," Inumoka replied. "The way you described the battle Naruto was in sounds like Naruto could beat all the Jounin in the Fire Country!" said Tekirai but her friends looked at her in a skeptical way. "Okay, maybe _half_ of the Jounin in the Fire Country!" The team laughed.

"I've been thinking, since Akatsuki got a hold of Ishiya Sanosuke—the vessel of Yonbi no Kuma—that leaves only the vessel of Hachibi left. It really wouldn't make sense for us to have a group called 'Bijuu 9' right?" Inumoka said. (a/n: I don't really know what demon animal Yonbi (four-tailed) has so let's just go with a bear. Also, I don't remember how many demons Akatsuki has so I'm taking a guess with four.) "Your right, Inumoka. So what should we call ourselves if we're able to get the vessel of Hachibi?" Subaru asked. "Let's let Naruto decide! After all he did today he deserves it," Tekirai responded. "Okay, we will," said Inumoka.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_The Next Day, 10:23 a.m.:_ Naruto was allowed to sleep in as late as he wanted to. Of course, he didn't want to get out of bed. It hurt too much to move. Soon he found the urge to get up and headed to the bathroom to get a quick shower. After that he had breakfast with the rest of the Bijuu 9 crew.

"Hey! Good-morning everyone!" Naruto yelled. Every greeted him with a warm smile. "So champ, you up for recruiting a new member?" Subaru asked. "Who is it?" Naruto asked with his mouth full. "She's the vessel of Hachibi no Orochi. She comes from the Hidden River village. I think her name is Yumi," Inumoka replied. "When can we ask her to join us?" Naruto asked after swallowing more food. "Will travel to the Hidden River village at noon, so be ready Naruto," Tekirai said. "Okay! Yumi, wherever you are, we're coming!" Naruto shouted with much enthusiasm.

(a/n: You know the deal… If ya have any questions, comments, concerns, or advice, tell me right away. Also, I made up the Hidden River village ((Kawagakure)). I'm not sure if it really is a village in Naruto or not. And let me know if ya have any info about the Akatsuki members and the Bijuu they have. This chapter I finished on 11/20/06 but don't hate me since I haven't uploaded new chapters in awhile!!! Well, see ya later!)


	14. Yumi

Naruto just stopped his training. It was quarter to twelve so he decided to start packing his things for the trip to the Hidden River village. "I can't wait to go there!" Naruto said while packing a few of his things. He stopped packing when he saw a picture of the 'Rookie 9' and Neji's team. One that got taken once Naruto got back from his three-year-training.

Naruto sighed and said, "Old memories." He tore the picture up and threw the remains in a nearby trashcan. He forgot to throw out one of the pieces of the pictures and picked it up. That was a piece of a picture of Hinata, blushing since she was to the right of Naruto. _Hinata-chan..._ Naruto thought, _I hope you're not too sad without me in Konoha._

Naruto walked outside of the base with Inumoka besides him. The group started walking into the forest. The Hidden River village was at least three miles west and five miles south. It would take them about six hours to get there.

The group was walking in silence for awhile until Naruto decided to speak up. "Hey, Inumoka, did you get anymore info on Yumi, besides the fact that she lives in the Hidden River village?" Naruto asked. "Let's see," Inumoka said while scratching his chin, "Yumi is your age, Naruto. Her birthday is two months after yours. She graduated at her ninja academy at a common age, twelve. She's an orphan but I think she use to have a family. That's all I know so far. When we get to the village we can ask her some questions."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hinata was at the Hyuuga Manor inside her room. She was in a corner hugging her knees and sulking. "Hinata-neechan, you can't keep crying forever! It's not going to help!" Hanabi yelled and knocked on Hinata's bedroom door. "Go away," Hinata said in a depressed tone. After reading Naruto's letter over and over again, she came to a conclusion that he meant what he said. Naruto wasn't going to come back to Konoha…

Hanabi let out a sigh of defeat. Neji, who had just gone upstairs to check on Hinata himself, went next to Hanabi. "Hanabi, is Hinata still in there?" Neji asked. Neji saw Hinata run into the Hyuuga Manor two hours ago. Tears flooded her pure-white eyes. Neji knew it probably had something to do with Naruto but he decided to check on her anyway.

"Naruto-kun… I miss you… why can't you come back… Just once, so I can see you again," Hinata murmured to herself while looking at a picture of the Rookie 9 (and Lee's team) that looked identical to the one Naruto had.

After crying for about thirty more minutes Hinata fell asleep. She dreamed that Naruto never left Konoha, and that she finally confessed to him. In her dream, Naruto reacted the same way.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_5:57 p.m., outside the Hidden River Village:_ Naruto and his friends just made it to the Hidden River village. "_Welcome to Kawagakure_," Naruto read. "This town isn't that big. It's population is 265," Subaru pointed out. "Then one of the 265 has to be Yumi," Tekirai said. "Let's split up," Inumoka stated. "Tekirai and I will search this end of the town while Subaru will search the other. Naruto, you can go around and asked people if they've seen." And with their orders, they were off.

Naruto was the first to get some info on Yumi's whereabouts. "Hey! Do you know where I can find a girl named Yumi?" Naruto asked an old man who sold plants. The old man snorted then replied, "You really wanna know where that demon-whore is?"

The word _demon-whore_ made Naruto feel really upset. He really felt like punching the old man to death and yell, 'YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO CALL YUMI THAT!' Instead he remained calm; it was better to not make a scene. "…Yes," Naruto finally replied. "I want to know where she is."

The old man said she was at the _Kawagakure Lake _which was a few blocks away from there. As much as he hated to do it, Naruto thanked the man and went on his way. The old man was right. Naruto saw a girl there about his age.

She had dark black hair and bluish-gray eyes. She wore a lavender short-sleeved shirt and a baby-blue skirt that was four inches above her kneecap. Her shuriken hoister was on her right thigh and she had a Hidden River hitai-ate which looked like a spiral. She looked just the way Inumoka described her when they were walking in the forest.

Naruto ran up to Yumi then sat down beside her. "Hi," Naruto said taking off his backpack. "Um, hello… M-my name is Y-Yumi… Just Yumi," she replied. "Nice to meet you Yumi, my name is Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto replied.

Yumi turned her head a way from Naruto and blushed. _Even though he's a stranger he looks kinda nice… and cute,_ she thought. "Um, Naruto… Why are you here?" Yumi asked. "I wanted to see if we could be friends!" he replied. _A friend… that's a word I haven't heard ever since I was seven… It's been eight years since then,_ Yumi thought.

Yumi hugged her knees. "Why would you wanna be my friend…?" she asked. "I don't have any friends… And I don't want any either," Yumi added. "What!? Don't you ever get lonely?" Naruto asked. "Yes… but I don't want… I don't want any of my friends to get hurt because of me. I don't want to lose them the way I…" Yumi's voice trailed off. "Lose them the way you lost who?" Naruto asked softly trying to sound like he wasn't nosy. "The way I lost my sister; my _twin_ sister," Yumi answered.

Naruto felt sorry for Yumi. She did have someone she cared about and that was her twin sister. But now Yumi's twin is dead, and Naruto wanted to find out what happened. "Yumi-san, why would anyone want to hurt your sister because of you?" Naruto asked. "If I told you, you wouldn't like me anymore… You'd think I'm a freak like all the others," she replied.

"That's why I want to be your friend! We're the same! I'm the vessel of Kyuubi no Kitsune!" Naruto exclaimed. _He has a demon too?_ Yumi thought. "So does this mean you already know? You know about Hachibi no Orochi?" Yumi asked and Naruto nodded. "So… if it's okay with you, will you tell me what happened to your sister?" Naruto asked.

Yumi felt a little hesitant when it came to talking about her sister. But she trusted Naruto as if he was her own brother so she decided to tell him the long, sad story. "My sister's name was Keiko. Like I said earlier, she was my twin. The reason why she died was that she loved me… and the villagers felt the exact opposite towards me," Yumi started. "Keiko had tons of friends. But whenever they saw me with her they would come up with a fake excuse to leave. The real reason they left was that their parents told them that I was a bad person," said Yumi.

Naruto felt a little confused and decided to ask a question. "How could they tell if it was your sister or you? After all, you're twins and look alike," Naruto said. "I knew you would ask that question," Yumi said and took a necklace with a moon crescent out of her waist pack. "Keiko said that our foster grandparents—who died when we were five—said that our mom and dad gave us these necklaces. I have a moon and she had a sun." Naruto _oh_ed and waited for her to continue.

Yumi cleared her throat and said, "On with the story. Two years later, when we were seven, Keiko decided that we should have a nice picnic at this lake… She told me to meet me here in an hour and I did exactly what she said. I decided to take use of my time and pick her a bouquet of flowers for her. I realized that if I didn't hurry I'd be late for our picnic and left the field to head for Kawagakure Lake." Naruto could see the sadness growing in Yumi's eyes. Whatever she was about to say next, it wasn't going to be good.

A single tear ran down Yumi's left eye but she wiped it away. "When I got there, I saw a crowd of people around this tree; the one we're sitting under, the one where the picnic with me and my sister was supposed to be and the one that Keiko and I use to sit around and look up at clouds or stars… I made my way through the crowd and gasped in horror," Yumi said and tears came streaming down her eyes.

"My sister… she was in the middle of the crowd… her blood was everywhere… It turns out that some of the villagers had beaten her until she couldn't handle it," she added and wiped some of her tears. "When I went over to Keiko her last words were, '_I'll always love you Yumi, no matter what…_' That's when I felt her hand fall limp and when there was no pulse on her neck.

Yumi stopped crying and clenched her fist. "The villagers were happy she was dead, they said she deserved it…They started calling her names, and said that it wasn't right for her to love a _demon_—I guess they were talking about me… If anyone should've died that day, it should've been me… Keiko didn't deserve to die; she didn't have a demon like me!" Yumi yelled.

Yumi-san! Calm down!" Naruto said putting a hand on her shoulder. "I just want them to die," Yumi said and cried onto Naruto's shoulder. "I hate all the villagers! Why should I be hated just because I contained a demon!? It doesn't mean Keiko had to die!"

Naruto held Yumi closely and tighter. "It's okay, _itoto_. I know how you feel. Not by losing someone close to you, but by being alone and having a painful past," Naruto said in a sincere tone. (a/n: _Itoto_ means younger/little sister) "If you come with me, you won't have to suffer anymore. My friends Inumoka, Tekirai, and Subaru all know how you feel. If you live with us at the Bijuu 9 base, you'll live a safer and happier life."

Yumi stopped crying but continued to hold onto Naruto. "Naruto… thank-you… If it's true what you said, then I'm leaving this village and going with you and your friends. It'll be like having a new family," Yumi stated. "Okay! Start packing your things then will go meet the rest of the Bijuu 9 crew and head back to the base!" Naruto shouted. "I'll finally leave this village," Yumi murmured then hugged Naruto. "Naruto-kun, thank you for saving me!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Subaru just met up with Tekirai and Inumoka. "Hey you guys! Did you find Naruto or Yumi?" she asked them. "Nah, maybe Naruto's found her already and they're waiting for us somewhere," Tekirai suggested. "You'd think he'd tell us where he is though," Inumoka murmured.

Suddenly, a small familiar fox came up to the trio. "Hey! It's Kitsukoke!" Tekirai said. "Who?" Inumoka and Subaru said in unison. "Kitsukoke is one of Naruto's summoning jutsu's. He usually uses him to send messages," Tekirai said while petting him. The fox yipped and started heading north. "I think he wants us to follow him, let's go!" Inumoka said and they chased after the fox.

Minutes later they were outside a restaurant where they saw Naruto and Yumi waiting for them. "Hey!" Inumoka said and gave Naruto a high-five. "So is this Yumi-chan?" Tekirai asked. Yumi nodded timidly. "Glad to meet ya Yumi! I see Naruto's already given you your bandana," Subaru said. Tied to the side of Yumi's head—like the rest of the Bijuu 9—was an identical black bandana. "Let's eat here tonight," Naruto said, "it's the only place Yumi will go to since the people who work here are nice to her."

When they went into the restaurant they realized that they had cheap stuff. So Naruto ordered Ramen, Inumoka ordered the same thing, Tekirai asked for Sukiyaki, Subaru said she'd like some Sushi, and Yumi wanted a few dumplings. To wash it all down they all asked for tea.

After their stomachs were full, Naruto and his friends—or family—left the village. It was a nice starry night so the group decided to camp for the night once they got a mile or two away from River. Since Yumi didn't have a sleeping bag Naruto offered for her to use his.

"Thanks Naruto," she said. "No problem, sis. I have an extra blanket, I'll just sleep on that," Naruto replied. _Kind, caring, and protective; qualities of a brother,_ Subaru thought and giggled. "Naruto-kun, thank you _so much_," Yumi said to him before she went to sleep. "No need to thank me, Yumi, we're family now," Naruto replied and went to sleep himself.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next morning Naruto woke up the latest, again. He over heard Yumi, Tekirai, Subaru, and Inumoka talking. Naruto stretched and yawned loudly then said in a sleepy tone, "Good-morning." The others greeted Naruto the same way. "Have some breakfast Naruto!" Inumoka said and handed Naruto a fish.

_There must've been a nearby river,_ Naruto thought then started to eat his fish (looks like somebody was hit by the obvious dart). After everybody was finished with breakfast their facial expressions changed. They all had serious looks and were eyeing Naruto intently. "What's the matter?" Naruto asked.

"It's nothing," Tekirai said. "Naruto-kun, Yumi, Inumoka, Tekirai, and I were talking about a few things," Subaru said. "Like what?" he asked. "After talking about it few times, we've decided that we wanted _you_ to be the leader of our group," Inumoka answered. "What? Really? THIS IS SO AWESOME!" Naruto yelled. "Naruto-niisan, this is a big responsibility… You sure you can handle it?" Yumi asked. "Of course I can! I won't let you guys down," Naruto said as sincere as he could.

"Since you're the new boss, we want you to choose the new group name. 'Bijuu 9' would've been a great name if we had four other members. Unfortunately Akatsuki got a hold of them before us… So go ahead and tell us a new name," said Inumoka. Naruto thought for awhile then one came to him. "A-ha! I got it! Our new name shall be, _The Kitsune 5_!" Naruto replied.

(a/n: Okay, next chapter will have a three-month time skip. Or maybe it should be three years… Nah… Hmm? My original idea was three months, three years would be to long, five months sounds good… I GOT IT! The next chapter will be two ½ years later! O.M.G., I think I've just been hit upside the head with the _Obvious Bat_. Oh, I almost forgot: If ya have any questions, comments, concerns, or advice, now's the time to speak up. Bye-Bye!)


	15. About 3 Years Later

_Two ½ years later... (Hidden Leaf Village)_

It's been nearly three years since Naruto had left Konoha... Nearly three years since he's joined the Kitsune 5, formally Bijuu 9.

Things in Konoha had changed a lot… But nothing was the same without Naruto.

Some people were glad he was gone; they celebrated the day he left on every October 10th. Most people didn't like the fact that he had left and wanted Naruto back.

Just like Sasuke, every ninja tried to get Naruto back with numerous missions (especially Team 8). Unfortunately, all of them failed.

Even though Naruto left, everyone had to continue with their everyday life. Like say their different relationships… (a/n: Don't blame me if I didn't pair the Naruto characters with your favorite pairings. After all, this is a Naru/Hina fanfic, so no complaints!)

For Sasuke he was dating a girl named Zen (11th chapter). Sakura always had time for Lee.

Ino and Chouji have there _moments_ now and then. And whenever he gets a chance, Shikamaru visits Temari in Suna.

Kiba has a girlfriend from the Nekozu clan named Nami (which is ironic since she's from a cat-type clan). Shino also has a girlfriend who had just moved from the Waterfall Village and her name is Mia.

Neji and Tenten also have a special relationship. But there's still one person out there that doesn't have one…

That person is Hinata. Sure she gets asked out by tons of guys from Konoha and other villages, but she always replies with a, "Sorry, I don't have the time."

She still had her mind of Naruto. If only she knew that Naruto had his mind on her, too.

Hinata had no idea that very soon she'd meet him again. But it wasn't going to be for a good reason…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Two ½ Years Later… (Kitsune 5)_

Naruto couldn't be any happier. He LOVED his new family; it's been that way for almost three years.

During those years Naruto and his friends had studied new and difficult jutsu's. They've learned some kick-ass Taijutsu moves, too.

There was one thing Naruto did that his friends didn't do. That was communicating with his Bijuu.

Naruto often talked to Kyuubi about information in/about Konoha. Kyuubi even liked Naruto's hatred towards Konoha so much that he's been teaching Naruto some forbidden—but not lethal—jutsu's.

This was all for Naruto's plan. His plan was **_to invade Konoha and destroy all existence of it._**

Subaru, Inumoka, Yumi, and Tekirai knew no one in Konoha so they had no regrets on helping Naruto destroy it. Besides, they didn't want to have an argument with their leader.

Also, no ones heard from Akatsuki in awhile. There have been no attacks from them.

The only remaining ex-members are Itachi, Deidara, Hidan, and the Akatsuki Leader. The others just 'disappeared' and the rest thought that the Kitsune 5 had something to do with it.

The remaining Akatsuki members are now wanders; they live in different villages and live different lives. All of this is thanks to the Kitsune 5. (a/n: Itachi, Hidan, and Deidara are my top 3 fave Akatsuki members, respectively! I thought the leader should live since he's like the strongest of 'em all)

Getting rid of Akatsuki—to avenge the lives of the vessels that were lost due to the fact of their Bijuu being extracted—tested how strong the Kitsune 5 were. Getting rid of everything, and everyone, in Konoha will _prove_ how strong they are.

Two weeks until the second Konoha invasion… Two weeks to prepare for it…_ Two weeks until Naruto's 18th birthday…_

(a/n: YES, I PURPOSELY made this a short chapter. This was just a chapter where ya see how the others back in Konoha are feeling. This chapter was finished 11/22/06… Man I wish this Internet would work! Well, TTYL!)


	16. Information

It was Wednesday at 12:00 noon. Every other Wednesday Hinata, Sakura, Ino, and Tenten would get together for a _Girls' Day Out_. This time they were meeting at the new _Hidden Leaf Mall_. Outside the food court, Sakura and Ino were waiting for Hinata and Tenten to get there.

"Where are they? They're five minutes late," Sakura said after taking a sip of her strawberry milkshake. "Don't worry Sakura! They'll be here in a couple of minutes," Ino replied then took a swallow of her mango smoothie. Two minutes passed and Tenten arrived. "Sorry I'm late girls! Neji wanted to give me this," Tenten said and showed them a necklace with a Sapphire in it. "It's beautiful Tenten! I'd wish Chouji would get me something like that," Ino said. "I wish Lee would get me something like that, too," said Sakura.

As the girls talked more about how lovely Neji's gift to Tenten was, Hinata came. "Hey, there's Hinata-chan!" Ino yelled. "Hi everyone," Hinata said timidly and the girls replied with different greetings. "This is the first time you came the latest, Hinata," Tenten said aloud. "I… umm… I got caught up. Hinabi wanted to show me her a new Jyuuken move," Hinata said as her fake excuse. "That's okay, Hinata. Today is a day for relaxation for just the four of us!" Sakura exclaimed. "Actually, it's five. I invited Zen to come hang with us. She should be on the second floor somewhere," Tenten stated.

While Ino, Tenten, Sakura, Zen were talking about their boyfriends and window shopping with every other store, Hinata had her mind set on other matters. Serious and important matters, that is. _Should I tell them…?_ Hinata thought as she walked with her friends. _I know he told me not to but… I can't take the risk! It's now or never!_

_FLASHBACK_

_Hinata sat down on the nearest park bench. She was just running away from a crowd of boys who wanted to date her. Hinata knew that the only _man_ she wanted to date was Naruto. Speaking of Naruto, his faithful pal—Kitsukoke—just ran up to her and sat on her lap. "Kitsukoke, is that really you? I haven't seen you in nearly a month! I miss you just as much as I miss Naruto," Hinata said and hugged the fox pup. Kitsukoke liked all the attention but he had to give Hinata an important letter. "What's this?" Hinata said as she silently read a note from Naruto._

Dear Hinata,

I miss you a lot. If you really miss me, if you really care about me, then you'll do as I say

_"Why would Naruto write something like this?" Hinata asked herself then continued to read the letter._

I want you to leave Konoha within the next two weeks. I'm planning on _destroying everything_, and _killing everyone_ there. So I want you and Iruka to get away from there as quick as possible. If you stayed there, you'd end up getting hurt. There's only one thing that could make my life happy, and that's you. But there's only one tiny thing that I have to do first and that's getting rid of Konoha—of course with the help of the rest of my friends. We won't hesitate on anything or anyone, okay? Also, _**you cannot tell anyone but Iruka about this**._ Until then good-bye.

Love Always,

Naruto

_Hinata gasped in horror. "Naruto can't do something like that," Hinata said and tears ran down her eyes. "What do I do…?" Hinata said and took a quick glance at her watch. "Oh, great… it's 12:10. If I don't hurry I'll be late to meet Ino, Tenten, and Sakura," Hinata murmured and headed for the new mall._

_END FLASHBACK_

Zen turned to look at Hinata's face. _She seems to be sadder than usual,_ Zen thought. "Hinata," Zen said and put a hand on her shoulder, "are you thinking about _him_ again?" Hinata shook her head. "Well… something related to him," Hinata answered. "If you have any questions, you can always tell us," Ino said. _I have to tell them! They're my friends. I'm sorry Naruto-kun,_ Hinata thought sadly. "Naruto's planning to kill us all!" Hinata blurted out. "WHAT!?" the girls chorused.

_Not exactly the way I wanted to start it,_ Hinata thought. "Naruto… he sent me a note about half an hour ago. He told me not to tell anyone but Iruka but… I couldn't take the risk so here," Hinata said and reached into her pocket to show Ino, Sakura, Tenten, and Zen the letter. The girls read the letter and gawked with disbelief. "HOLY SHIT!" Zen yelled and the other girls glared at her. "Sorry! I only say things like that when I'm under a lot a pressure of something's going wrong!" Ino looked back at Hinata and said, "We have to tell Tsunade-sama!"

Hinata shook her head disapprovingly and responded, "We can't! I already jeopardized Naruto's trust with me by telling you four… I don't want Naruto to… hate me…" "Hinata, if we don't tell Godaime-sama then will risk _everyone's **life**_! Right now we need to focus more about Naruto's plans," Sakura said. It took awhile for Hinata to answer but then she realized Sakura was right and the five of them went to Hokage Tower. "This turned out to be the best Girls' Day Out," Tenten murmured sarcastically.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Hokage Tower:_ Tsunade was reading over the profile of the girl who became this year's Chuunin during the Chuunin Exams. "Hey Shizune, this Ji-Ji girl is from the Koro clan! That's one of the best clans in the Lightning Country," Tsunade stated. "They specialize in Taijutsu, right?" Shizune asked and Tsunade nodded. _Lee and Gai would fit perfectly in this clan if they had brown hair,_ Tsunade thought and heard a knock on the door. "Come in," Shizune and Tsunade yelled as Sakura, Zen, Ino, Hinata, and Tenten came in.

"Tsunade-sama, we have some bad news!" Sakura said. "What is it?" Tsunade demanded. "It's about… Naruto-kun," Hinata said in a soft voice. Zen gave Tsunade the letter Hinata received and Tsunade skimmed over it. "This _is_ terrible," Tsunade said and let Shizune read the letter. "What should we do?" Tenten asked.

Tsunade—and the others—talked about various ways of stopping Naruto's sinister plot. Finally an idea came to Tsunade. "I have a plan," she said and the others waited to listen to what she had to say. "I want the Genin to help evacuate everyone else in Konoha within the next three days. I want three ANBU squads to head out into the forest and spread in different areas. That way if they find Naruto and his friends, they'll be able to talk some sense into 'em. As for the Chuunin and Jounin, I want them to prepare for a fierce battle if Naruto makes it to Konoha. Also, I want the old Rookie 9 to stay in Konoha. You were Naruto's friends at a time so he might listen to you."

After discussing where the Genin should take the citizens in Konoha—which was to the Wind Country—the plan sounded good to everyone and the girls left. Except for Hinata who remained still in Tsunade's office. "Hinata," Tsunade said and went to her side. "I don't want Naruto to hurt anyone in this village! I _love_ him! I'm so confused from now! I don't know what to do!" Hinata said and cried onto Tsunade's shoulder. "It'll be all right, Hinata. I'm sure if anyone can stop Naruto, it's you," Tsunade said in a reassuring voice. _At least I hope she can,_ Tsunade thought.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Kitsune 5 headed towards Konoha. In about a week or so they would be there. In a week or so, Konoha would have to figure out what to do to stop Naruto if Naruto's former friends couldn't.

"Hey, Naruto," Inumoka said. "Yeah?" he replied as they jumped and ran from tree-to-tree. "You sure you wanna go through with this?" Inumoka asked. "Of course I'm sure! I'm been sure for nearly 2 ½ years of my life! The only way that I can take all my pain, suffering, and grief away from me is to destroy the source of it," Naruto answered. "Are you sure we can handle it?" Subaru asked. "C'mon you guys! Stop being so skeptical. We took out five outta nine Akatsuki members! I'm sure we can handle it," Naruto answered.

"I don't know," everyone heard Yumi say. "You don't know about what?" Naruto said with a little irritation. "You sure your Hyuuga-girlfriend didn't say anything?" Yumi questioned. "Well I hope so… If she did say something to someone else other then Iruka I'd…" Naruto's voice trailed off. He didn't plan on what to do if Hinata told someone other than Iruka; he _definitely_ didn't want to hurt her or Iruka. "I'm sure she didn't," was what Naruto said after a long moment of silence.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

(A few days later)

_In two days it'll be Naruto's birthday,_ Hinata thought. She looked outside her bedroom window and listened to nothing but silence. The Genin had evacuated every resident in Konoha and now they're waiting somewhere in the Wind Country until things calm down in Konoha. "I wish I could get Naruto something for his birthday… But all I can give him is hope; hope that he'll change his mind," Hinata murmured.

"You think we can change his mind?" Sasuke asked Zen who was sitting next to him under a tree. "Of course we can. Your Naruto's best friend, I'm sure he won't hurt you or anyone else," Zen said and held Sasuke's hand. "Three years can change a person… He might not be the same," Sasuke replied softly. "You worry too much," Zen said and lay her head on Sasuke's shoulder, "just enjoy what ya have right now. Who knows what will happy on October 10th."

"I always admired Naruto's determination and hoped that one day I could fight him. Now I don't want to fight him in the next two days," Lee said to Sakura who was sitting next to him at a table. "Lee, we won't have to fight Naruto. I know that deep down our old, hyperactive, over-confident, knucklehead Naruto is still in him," Sakura responded. "Yeah, you're right," Lee said. _I hope I'm right,_ Sakura thought.


	17. The Raid Begins!

"Tomorrow's the big day," Hinata said to Sakura. Hinata and Sakura were walking around the half-empty park. "I'm so nervous," she added. "Hinata-chan, just because he left for almost three years doesn't mean he changed. He could be the same," Sakura assured. Hinata sighed and said, "When I finally get to see him again, it's not in a good way." _It might not start out as a good way, but we can try and change it, _Sakura thought.

While Sasuke was looking over pictures of him, Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi when they were Team 7 before he left Konoha, he heard a knock on the door. "Coming," he said and went over to the door of his apartment and saw Zen. "Zen, why are you here?" he asked and let her in. "I just came to say that my ANBU team got chosen to scout the area to find Naruto," Zen answered. "Why do you sound so depressed about it?" Sasuke asked and held her closely. "You never know what could happen… he might just—," before Zen could finish her sentence her lips were pressed against Sasuke's. "Don't worry, you'll be fine," he said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hey, Naruto-niisan, tomorrow's your birthday right?" Yumi asked. "Yeah; and what better way to celebrate it by destroying a village?" Naruto replied. "Is there anything you _don't_ plan on destroying?" Yumi asked and Naruto scowled. "I said I'm planning on destroying _every_thing and _every_one in Konoha. There's nothing I don't plan on destroying," he answered shrilly.

"Naruto sure is determined to do this," Subaru said to Inumoka and Tekirai. "He's been determined for a long time, Subaru. He just wants to get it over with," Tekirai responded. "I guess the only way to get rid of pain is to ignore it or destroy it," Inumoka murmured. "With Konoha gone, we'll be known in all five countries! Nobody would bother us then," Subaru said.

Yumi and Naruto were having a conversation of their own. "What will we do if your plan succeeds, Naruto-niisan?" Yumi asked Naruto. "Haven't really thought about it," Naruto replied lazily and lay back in the grass. "I just wish everyone would stop worrying and relax while we can. It'll take off the pressure on our mission tomorrow," he added. "Okay… I still feel like something's wrong," Yumi said. "You guys worry to much," Naruto said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was finally October 10th. Konoha was as silent as the mute button on someone's TV. Ninja squads were spread around Konoha, hiding just in case Naruto made it to the city.

Just like Tsunade said before, she wanted three ANBU squads to scout around the area of Konoha. One of those squads just so happened to have Zen in it.

So now everyone waited. They had waited since 6:30 in the morning. It was only three hours later when Naruto made his first attack.

"Okay team, let's lay down the rules of this mission," Naruto said as he and his friends jumped from tree-to-tree, "First off, let's start our reign of destruction by destroying all of the buildings; whatever ya do, don't touch Ichiraku Ramen, I want that building. Oh, and the Konoha Ninja Academy! After we remodel the town, then you can annihilate anyone you want. But _I_ want the 5th Hokage and the Konoha Council. Everything else you guys know, so put in a lot of effort. Show no mercy!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You okay, Zen?" an ANBU Nin asked her. "I-I'm all right. It's just th-the cold October m-morning," she replied. Suddenly, on her ear-linked communicator, she heard a lot of strange noises.

"Come in, Squad Yellow. I repeat, come in Squad Yellow. This is Squad Red, over," Zen said. After a moment of silence her communicator went off. There were lots of battle and fighting noises. "This is Squad Yellow! This is Squad Yellow! We are under attack, I repeat, we are under attack," an ANBU Nin from Squad Yellow yelled. After a few screams of terror Zen lost contact with them.

"Damn! Daizo-taicho, we lost contact with Squad Yellow," Zen reported. "Squad Blue, do you read me? This is Squad Red, over," Zen said. I minute later Squad Blue replied. "Read ya loud and clear. This is Squad Blue, over," the ANBU in Squad Blue said. "This is Squad Red, Squad Blue. We lost contact with Squad Yellow, over," Zen stated. "Rodger that. Permission to check out the area of Squad Yellow, over" Squad Blue asked. "Permission Granted," Zen said.

"I just sent Squad Blue to check out Squad Yellow, Daizo," Zen informed him. "Okay, keep your guard up Zen," Daizo replied and she nodded. Seconds later Zen's communicator went off and she heard someone say, "Back up, back up. Requesting back up IMMEDIATELY. When need a Medic Team over here, A-SAP!"

While another one of the ANBU on Squad Red contacted a Medic Team, Zen waited for someone to say something else in here communicator. "Zen, we got severely injured ninjas over here, where's that Medic Team?" Squad Blue demanded. "They're on their way!" Zen snapped.

_They must've been attacked by Naruto,_ Zen thought and sighed. Zen's communicator just went off and someone shouted, "HOLY SHIT! ZEN, GET OVER HERE NOW! WE NEED YOUR TEAM'S HELP! GET OVER HERE!"

"Daizo-taicho, Squad Blue's in trouble!" Zen reported. Before you could name all Kage in the five countries, Zen's ANBU Squad hurried to where the signal of Squad Blue was. "This is… terrible," Zen murmured.

Squad Blue and Yellow were badly injured. It looks like they were in a fierce battle. Nearly the whole area was in turmoil. "Look what we have here," they heard a voice say.

Zen and her team turned around. They weren't surprise to see Naruto, Yumi, Subaru, Inumoka, and Tekirai. "Naruto-san! You did all of this?" Zen said. "We didn't kill them… They only have 'a few' broken bones," Naruto said and smirked. "Listen Naruto, we don't want to have to fight. All we want to do is talk," Zen said. "There's nothing _to_ talk about; so let's just fight!" Naruto yelled and Zen's squad was attacked.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hinata was standing a few meters away from Konoha gates. She turned around, surprised to see Sasuke. "Sasuke-san, why are you here?" Hinata said. "I figured you would be anxious to see Naruto. Just in case he's a little too much to handle, I decided to come with you," he said. "Oh," Hinata replied.

Minutes later they saw an ANBU ninja head towards them. The ANBU Nin was beaten badly, and blood was everywhere. When _she_ came in closer she wasn't wearing a mask. "Zen!" Sasuke said and he and Hinata ran up to her side.

Zen leaned on Sasuke and she was breathing hard. "Did Naruto do this to you?" Sasuke asked not able to hold in his anger. "Naruto… and his friends… did. They attacked me… and the other ANBU squads. Daizo-taicho sent me… here to get help… before Naruto came," she replied before she lost consciousness. Sasuke's facial features tightened with anger. Hinata noticed this and said, "Sasuke-san, you should take Zen-chan to the hospital. I'm sure a few medic nin stayed behind." Sasuke nodded and carried Zen to the hospital, leaving Hinata alone.

_I have to help the ANBU squads and Medic team that got hurt,_ Hinata thought and headed into the forest.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"That was a piece of cake," Naruto said happily as his team ran through the forest and headed towards Konoha. "Naruto-niisan, you know what this means, right?" Yumi asked. "…No," Naruto replied. "It means Hinata squealed! I knew she couldn't keep this plan a secret," Yumi answered for him. Naruto was silent for a bit. "If she told someone other then Iruka, then it must mean she's still in Konoha," Naruto stated. "So does this mean we're going to go see her?" Tekirai asked and Naruto nodded.

After a few minutes later, Hinata and Naruto's team ran into each other. "Naruto-kun," Hinata said softly. "Hinata-chan," Naruto replied. "Oh Naruto-kun, I've missed you show much!" Hinata said and ran over to hug him. "Didn't tell you to get away from here?" Naruto asked. Hinata was enjoying seeing Naruto again too much to answer his question.

Naruto smiled at Hinata and hugged her back; he knew he couldn't hold a grudge against her. "I've missed you too," Naruto said as he gazed lovingly into her eyes. Hinata was really surprised when Naruto kissed her lightly on her lips. Hinata wanted that kiss to last forever, but she knew she had more important matters to tend to.

"Naruto-kun, I need to tell you something," Hinata said after their kiss ended. "What?" he asked. "Naruto-kun, I… I can't let you harm Konoha," Hinata said. Naruto's expression turned emotionless. "Hinata-chan, you told them, didn't you? Three ANBU squads wouldn't be here if you didn't," Naruto accused. "Naruto, I had to! I can't just let the village I grew up in be destroyed!" Hinata protested. "You betrayed me, Hinata," Naruto said bitterly. "Naruto… I'm _so_ sorry," Hinata replied.

Naruto looked at Hinata with anger in his eyes. _How could she do this to me…? Of all people, why would it have to be her?_ Naruto thought. "Inumoka, Yumi, Tekirai, Subaru, head towards the village," Naruto ordered. "Naruto-kun, don't," Hinata pleaded but it didn't work, "I really don't want to, but I _will_ fight you if I have to protect Konoha." Hinata pulled out a kunai. "So be it… Inumoka, go with the others to the village, NOW!" Naruto said.

The others left and the battle between Naruto and Hinata begun…

(a/n: Oooohhh, I keep it SOOO suspenseFUL!!! Don't worry, I'll update A.S.A.P. This chapter was finished on 11/29/06! Well, until then, Jaa Ne!)


	18. Another Cliffhanger

Sasuke stood next to Zen lying in a hospital bed. They had just gotten to Konoha Hospital. Like Hinata said, a few medic ninjas were still in the hospital. _Zen,_ Sasuke thought with concern in his eyes. "Don't worry, Sasuke-kun. No damage was done to her vital organs. She'll wake up in a few hours," Sakura said. Sasuke let out a sigh and said, "I hope so."

Suddenly they heard an explosion. Sasuke and Sakura looked out the hospital bedroom window and saw smoke from a building on the far side of town. "Let's go!" Sakura said. Sasuke looked at Zen one last time. "We'll be back," Sasuke said after giving her a kiss on her forehead before they left.

As they were running towards the building that got damaged it turned out to be an ordinary apartment. "We have to put the fire—," before Sakura could finish her sentence three more explosion went off. "Damn it!" Sasuke cursed. "Sasuke, you go take a look at the other explosions, I'll try and put this fire out," Sakura said and Sasuke nodded. _Looks like the battle has started,_ Sakura thought.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Back in the Forest:_ Hinata and Naruto were still fighting. Hinata was getting tired while Naruto hardly broke a sweat. "You do realize that I'm going easy on you, Hinata-chan?" Naruto said after dodging three kunai knives. Hinata didn't reply. After catching Naruto off guard she was able to hit him in the mouth. Naruto spit out blood and said, "Your punches sure do hurt… I must say, you've improved over the years."

If Hinata was just training with Naruto, she would've thanked him and complimented his moves, too. But this wasn't training; it was a fight between her and Naruto. "You might've improved, but you're not as good as me," Naruto said matter-of-factly. Hinata tried not to act discouraged.

_Not to sound like Shikamaru, but this is getting troublesome,_ Naruto thought after his punches were being dodged. "Time to end this," Naruto murmured. Hinata backed away from him, breathing hard. _Naruto-kun… has a lot of… energy,_ Hinata thought.

"Sorry I had to do this Hinata," Naruto said. In the blink of an eye, Naruto punched Hinata in the stomach. He was as fast as lightning; Hinata had no time to defend herself. "Naruto-kun…," Hinata said before she passed out. "I would never kill you, Hinata-chan," Naruto said before he left the forest. Now he headed towards Konoha.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sasuke just put out another fire. "That's the last of 'em," he muttered breathlessly. Sasuke went out of the half-building just as an explosion went off in one side of the Konoha Mall. "Ah, damn," Sasuke muttered.

Before Sasuke could go anywhere, Inumoka blocked his path. "Who the hell are you?" Sasuke demanded coldly. "The name's Inumoka," Inumoka answered. "I'm guessing you're one of Naruto's friends," Sasuke assumed. "I'm more than a friend to Naruto; he treats me like a brother. He said he use to act that way with you, but you were just too much of a wannabe avenger to notice; people like you don't deserve to live," Inumoka stated.

"That sounds like a threat," Sasuke taunted. "It _is_," Inumoka replied. "Listen, if you guys surrender now everything will turn out okay. I'm not in the mood to fight," Sasuke explained. "Well _I_ am; if you get in the way of Naruto's plan, then we'll have no choice to fight. Besides, you don't want to end up like those ANBU teams," said Inumoka.

Sasuke's original plan was to stop Naruto and his friends by having a little chat. Once Inumoka mentioned the ambushed ANBU squads, Sasuke only had one person in mind… Zen. "You bastard," Sasuke said angrily. "You'll pay for what you did to Zen!" Before you knew it, Sasuke was in a battle with Inumoka.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Elsewhere in Konoha:_ Shikamaru and Neji were in trouble. Somehow they had gotten in a fight with Yumi and Subaru. "Damn it! Where are Ino and Chouji when you need them?" Shikamaru shouted after dodging one of Yumi's attacks. "Who knows—DUCK!" Neji said and they did right before shuriken were aimed at them.

_This is SO troublesome,_ Shikamaru thought miserably. "Help has arrived!" they heard a voice say. Shikamaru, Neji, Yumi, and Subaru turned around. They all saw Chouji. "Chouji you meat bag! Haven't you heard of the _element of surprise_?" Shikamaru scolded. "Oops, sorry," Chouji said. Shikamaru shook his head and Neji slapped his forehead.

"Mind Transfer Jutsu!" they heard someone else yell. It was Ino! "Chouji, you're a genius! That was just a distraction!" Shikamaru said. "Of course it was! It's not like I would put myself out in the open," Chouji said while holding Ino's motionless body bridal-style.

"Subaru-chan! Are you okay?" Yumi yelled. Subaru was a still as dog pretending to be dead. Then Subaru stared straight into Yumi's eyes. "Subaru?" Yumi said cautiously. Ino/Subaru smiled and said, "I'm not Subaru!"

Ino's jutsu had successfully worked! "Listen up Yumi if you don't want Subaru to get hurt," Ino/Subaru said. "All we want to do is talk," Chouji added. Yumi sighed and said, "Fine… what do you have to say?"

Shikamaru and Neji sighed with relief. "Okay, we know Naruto isn't really happy but we're still his friends… we can help," Shikamaru said. "I don't think you can," Yumi said in a matter-of-fact tone. "If we can't then Iruka-sensei or Hinata-sama can," Neji replied. "Tch!" I doubt it…," Yumi muttered.

"You're one hard eggshell to crack," Ino/Subaru said. "We'll try our luck with someone else; take us to another one of your comrades," Chouji said. "As long as you don't hurt Subaru," Yumi murmured. Then she started to walk in the direction Tekirai headed in.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Back in the Forest:_ Hinata woke up a few minutes later. "Naruto-kun…," she said after coughing a bit. "He's headed for Konoha… I have to stop him," she added and shakily got up. After getting a grip on herself she cautiously made her way towards Konoha.

_Sasuke and Inumoka's Fight:_ Sasuke and Inumoka were still at it. They were both getting tired. _Nothing that I wouldn't expect from an Uchiha,_ Inumoka thought. "Damn these guys are good!" Sasuke muttered.

Though Sasuke was winning the fight, he had used up almost all of his good moves. One thing he was saving for last was _Chidori_, which he could use five times without passing out.

"We'll have to end this battle one way or another," Inumoka said. "Your right," Sasuke replied a pulled out is Kusanagi. Despite the fact that Orochimaru gave the Kusanagi to him, it was useful in battle.

Before Sasuke used his sword, he decided to use one of his old time favorite jutsu's. "_Katon: Gokakyuu no Jutsu!_" Sasuke yelled. Inumoka just smirked and moved out of the way of the gigantic fireball. _That jutsu is so predictable,_ Inumoka thought.

"Gotcha!" Sasuke yelled once he caught Inumoka off-guard. Sasuke quickly pulled out his Kusanagi and had a direct hit. "Arg!" Inumoka said and held his wound. Blood was leaking from him as quick as the flow of the river. "Damn… Uchiha…," Inumoka muttered before he passed out from blood loss.

"This time, stay down," Sasuke said as he sheathed his sword. Sasuke's eyes widened when he noticed Inumoka's wound healing. "Damn Bijuu," he murmured. "SASUKE!" he heard someone yell. Sasuke turned around and saw…

(a/n: BWAH HA HA! Cliffhangers! Cliffhangers! Go ahead and guess who he saw if ya want. This story should probably be over in one or two more chaps. Also, I'm working on my second fanfic called _A Reason to Live_. It's a GaaraxOC one. Takes place when Gaara's six then around the Chuunin Exams. If ya have any questions, comments, you know the rest, tell me right away! Sayonara!)


	19. Chapter 19

"SASUKE!" he heard someone yell his name. Sasuke turned around and saw... Iruka! (a/n: BWAH HA HA, CLIFFHANGERS! CLIFFHANGERS ((sorry, just had the urge to type that))!!! I bet most of ya probably thought that was Naruto, right? To tell you the truth, I was gonna make it Naruto but then the story would be over quicker... Also, Iruka needs a part in this story!) Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief.

Sasuke went over to his former sensei. Iruka was beat up—it looked like he was in a fight against three, or more, strong ninjas—and breathing hard. "Iruka-sensei, what happened?" Sasuke asked. "I was ambushed… by a blond girl… I guess it was one of Naruto's friends. She was too much for me to handle so I fled," Iruka said with the bit of energy he had.

"Iruka-sensei, you need help. We have to find Sakura," Sasuke said and put Iruka's right arm over his left shoulder. "Okay, let's go," Iruka said with a sigh of pain.

Sasuke was stealthily making his way around Konoha, until he spotted Sai and Yamato. (a/n: I haven't mentioned these two either… Guess I should put them in this story about now!)

"Sai, Yamato!" Sasuke said and went over to them. "Here, take Iruka and get him to the hospital," Sasuke said and handed Iruka to Sai. "Wait a minute Sasuke, let me come with you," Yamato said. "If Sai runs into one of Naruto's friends, he's not gonna have the energy to fight and protect Iruka," Sasuke replied. Yamato nodded in agreement. Soon Yamato and Sai were headed towards the hospital.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Where'd that dolphin-man go?" Tekirai murmured. _He'll pay for cutting my hair short! I look SO wrong now… He was probably aiming for my neck, too! _Tekirai thought angrily.

"Tekirai!" she heard someone call her name. Tekirai turned around and saw Yumi and Subaru. Yumi was the one who called her name. "Hey," Tekirai said and went over to them, "I didn't know destroying something and getting away with it could put such a power-surge through your body!"

"…Yeah," Yumi said softly. She glanced over at Subaru. Subaru had a kunai knife gripped tightly in her hand. _If I say anything to Tekirai they'll probably hurt Subaru. But if we hurt that Ino-girl, it'll only hurt Subaru, too. This sucks, _Yumi thought.

"Tekirai-chan, we have to talk," Ino/Subaru said in monotone. "Subaru… there's something wrong with you," Tekirai replied worriedly.

"You think this'll work?" Chouji whispered to Shikamaru. Chouji, Shikamaru, and Neji were crouching on top of an undamaged building. Ino's body was still being held by Chouji. "Of course it will work," Shikamaru whispered back. "Shh, be quiet you two or we won't hear them!" Neji whispered then peered down at the three girls.

"We have to talk about what?" Tekirai asked. "Tekirai-chan, that's not Subaru! A girl named Ino used a transfer jutsu and now she's in Subaru's body!" Yumi suddenly yelled.

Tekirai quickly took out three shuriken in each of her hands but stop when Ino/Subaru said, "Hold it! You wouldn't want Subaru to get hurt, right?" Ino/Subaru put the kunai in her hand and held it against her neck. Tekirai slowly dropped her shuriken. "Okay, what do you want?" Tekirai demanded.

"We want you to help us stop Naruto! He's still our friend and we care about him. We don't want him to destroy this village, either. We know if anyone could stop him it would be his FAMILY. You _have_ to help us," Ino/Subaru explained.

Yumi and Tekirai looked at each other fearfully. "I'm afraid we can't," Yumi confessed sadly. "Naruto _does_ love us like a family, but he's planned this invasion and nothing we say could change his mind," Tekirai stated. Yumi, Tekirai, and Ino/Subaru sighed.

"Besides, I sense no civilians or their families in this town. Everyone must've evacuated. We really didn't mean any harm. We'll do whatever it takes to get this town back in better shape," Tekirai said sincerely. Yumi nodded with agreement. "Okay, we understand," Ino/Subaru said. Ino made hand signs to get her soul out of Subaru's body. Moments later both girls were back in their original bodies.

Chouji, Shikamaru, Neji, and Ino jumped down from the building to meet Tekirai, Subaru, and Yumi. "They say they can't stop Naruto," Ino said. "Well… we can't but will try! First we should find Inumoka or Naruto," Yumi assured. "All right, let's go!" Neji said.

(a/n: Hmm… the next chapter will probably be the last one. So dramatic, suspenseful, and… Suspenseful! Say, is character death all right? I'm thinking that Hinata… Never mind! Hinata is my FAVORITE female character, there's NO WAY I'd kill her in a fanfic unless she had some type of disease… like breast cancer. Anyway, better get to typing Chapter 20! Don't forget to question and comment!)


	20. Chapter 20

Hinata was a few meters away from Konoha Gates. _I made it, _she thought. "Hinata!" she heard someone call her name. Hinata breathed a sigh of relief; it was only Tenten and Lee.

Tenten and Lee came rushing over. "Hinata-chan, are you okay? Should we take you to the hospital?" Tenten asked. "No, I'm fine," Hinata murmured. "No, you need help. We _have_ to take you to the hospital, Hinata," Lee said. "No! We can't! I have to find Naruto-kun first," Hinata protested. "All right, but we're coming with you," Tenten said. "Okay," Hinata replied.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Elsewhere in Konoha: _Inumoka felt himself being shaken. He slowly opened his eyes and saw a familiar blond boy. "N-Naruto? That you?" Inumoka said with puzzlement. "Yeah, it's me. Inumoka, what happened to you?" Naruto said.

Inumoka sat up and thought for a moment. "I kinda forget…," he said and Naruto sighed. "Wait a minute! Now I remember… I got in a fight with Uchiha. He only won because he stabbed me and I lost a lot of blood. Thankfully, I have a Bijuu so my wound healed," Inumoka explained.

"What!? _Sasuke_ hurt you?" Naruto demanded. "Yeah," Inumoka replied. _That bastard! He'll pay!_ Naruto thought angrily. "Sit tight, Inumoka. I'll go find Sasuke," Naruto said. "Don't do anything regretful," Inumoka replied. Naruto laughed vaguely and responded, "I wouldn't be here if this was regretful."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tenten, Lee, and Hinata walked silently around Konoha. "Hinata's been awfully quiet," Lee said to Tenten and she nodded. That's when the trio ran into Kiba and Shino. "Hey Lee, Tenten, have you guys seen Hinata?" Kiba asked. "What do you mean? She's right—," before Tenten could finish, she turned around and Hinata was no where in sight.

"She must've gone after Naruto," Lee stated. "We have to find her!" Tenten yelled. "And we will. Kiba, go with Tenten and Lee to find Hinata. I'll continue the search for Mia and Nami," Shino instructed. The others nodded with conformity then left.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sasuke just saved a puppy and a kitten from a burning building. "All right puppy, kitty, scram. I got work to do," Sasuke said. The puppy barked, the kitten meowed, and then they ran off.

Sasuke averted his gaze north towards Konoha Hospital. _Good, the hospital hasn't been hit. I should check on Zen before I do anything else, _he thought. Before Sasuke did anything a fist met his face and it sent him 20 yards backwards.

Sasuke hit a food store and it made a small crater. He wiped the blood from his mouth and yelled, "Who was the wise-guy that did that to me!?" He waited for an answer until he heard someone yell, "Me!" Sasuke turned around; he wasn't surprised to see Naruto.

"So you did it, eh, Naruto?" Sasuke said. "You deserved it… Anyway, I was walking around town and thought that maybe it'd be time to kick your ass once and for all!" Naruto replied.

"I'm not in the mood to fight; all I want to do is help," Sasuke stated. "Oh, I think you'll wanna fight after this," Naruto said and snapped his fingers. Just as he did, an explosion went off. Sasuke noticed it was four building away from Konoha Hospital.

"Naruto… what the hell do you think you're doing!?" Sasuke demanded. "Nothing, expect for the fact that if I snap my finger three more times, the next building in line will be the hospital. If you don't want your girlfriend—or any other injured ninja at the hospital—to get killed, then I guess you have no choice but to fight me," Naruto answered.

Sasuke thought for a moment. He didn't want to fight Naruto, but he didn't want Zen (and the others at the hospital) to get hurt. The only way to protect them was to get past Naruto. In the end, Sasuke had finally made a result… "Looks like I have no choice," Sasuke said and pulled out his Kusanagi, "I have to fight you…" _Nice decision, Uchiha. You'll pay for hurting Inumoka! _Naruto thought with a smirk. The fight between Naruto and Sasuke begun.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Shikamaru and his squadron wandered around Konoha. Hopefully they'd find Naruto and/or Inumoka. They found Inumoka first. He was lying against a half-building and apparently resting. "Inumoka-kun!" Tekirai yelled and the group ran over to him.

"Inumoka, do you know where Naruto-niisan is?" Yumi asked. "Hey, why are _they_ with you?" Inumoka said and stood up. His eyes were filled with distrust towards Shikamaru, Neji, Chouji, and Ino.

"We'll answer that later! Can you tell us where Naruto is if you know?" Subaru asked impatiently. "Naruto went to find and fight Uchiha," Inumoka replied casually and leaned against the wall of the half-building.

"How can you act so calm after saying _that_?" Subaru demanded. "In times like this it's good to stay calm until you come up with a plan," Inumoka explained. "He's right. We should find Naruto and Sasuke first then stop their battle. Will talk some sense into Naruto then; after all, he probably hasn't been thinking about the good times he's had in Konoha," Shikamaru said.

The others agreed, expect Inumoka. "Hold up, I'm not going with them!" said Inumoka. "Look, Inumoka, we stand much more of a chance of 'defeating' Naruto if we stick together. Can we just call a truce?" Chouji said and held out his hand. "Com'on Inumoka, just do it. We all have," Yumi said and by 'we' she met her, Subaru, and Tekirai.

Inumoka looked at Chouji's hand. After what seemed like an eternity he shook it. "All right, we'll work together," Inumoka said. "Do you know which way Naruto went?" Ino asked. "That way," Inumoka said and pointed south. "Follow me."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sasuke and Naruto's battle had gone on for 20 minutes. Both of them were getting tired. Well, mostly Sasuke. Naruto had enough strength to go on for a week.

To both of them, Naruto and Sasuke knew that the victor would probably be Naruto. After a few more jutsu's Sasuke could get killed. Naruto's ability to heal himself (one of the methods he learned from Kyuubi) wasn't helping either.

"Getting weary, Uchiha?" Naruto asked after healing one of the slashes on his arm. "I'm not giving up…," Sasuke muttered though it wasn't true. "Too bad," Naruto said. He started to gather chakra in his hand. Soon Naruto would have his Rasengan ready to blast straight through Sasuke's body.

Hinata had arrived at the battle three minutes ago. She knew that soon Sasuke would need some help, so she decided to aid him. Before she did anything she hid behind a crate and waited for the perfect moment to appear.

"Oh no," Hinata murmured. Naruto's Rasengan was ready and he could aim it at the defenseless Sasuke at any time. Hinata knew she couldn't stop the attack but she could defend Sasuke.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_It was in the blink of an eye. No one had expected Hinata to do what she had done. She stood in front of Sasuke and blocked Naruto's attack. Of course, this would cost her, her own life. But she still had a few minutes to live…_

_Naruto and Sasuke were speechless. Hinata fell to the ground with a thump and blood immediately started pouring from her. "H-Hinata… no… What have I done…?" Naruto said. He went over to her and collapsed in the puddle of blood._

_"Hinata-chan…," Naruto said and tears streamed down his eyes. "I never meant for you to get hurt. I never wanted this to happen to you. Hinata… I love you," Naruto said and cried as he held her closely._

_"Naruto…," he thought he heard her say. "Now I'm hearing things," Naruto muttered. "Naruto-kun," he heard Hinata say again. "Hinata, you're alive!" Naruto yelled and held her even closer. _

"_I am… for now… I don't know if I'll live or die, but I do want you to know something," she responded and clung to his shirt. "You can tell me anything. What is it?" Naruto said with tears still in his eyes. This time they were of joy and relief. Hinata coughed up some blood and said, "Naruto, I…"_

(a/n: HaHaHa! You all probably think this is the last chapter, right? Well it's not; I lied! I guess I still have one last thing to add. Say, would you think the end of this chap was a cliffhanger? Looks like it from my point of view… Oh no, I left my Miuchiz on and it's upstairs! Gotta go get it! Bye-bye!)


	21. The End

Hinata's P/O/V

I awoke the next morning and thought that I was in Heaven. That's only because I was surrounded by whiteness. Soon I realized that I was lying down and staring at a ceiling. It took me awhile to recognize that I was in a hospital bedroom.

I slightly titled my head to look out the window. I saw a lot of debris; it must've been from Naruto's attacks. There were also people working to re-establish buildings and whatnot. Looks like Naruto didn't destroy the village. I smiled.

I was a little startled when I felt someone hold my hand. When I turned my head in the other direction I saw Naruto. He was smiling a smile that showed relief.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Out of P/O/V

Naruto gave Hinata a hug and said, "Glad you're awake, Hinata-chan." As soon as Hinata was able to sit up, she was glad she was awake, too. After all, Naruto's Rasengan could kill someone! "Naruto-kun, how long have I been out?" Hinata asked. "Five days. I haven't left your side for a second," Naruto answered.

"Naruto-kun, you stopped your raid?" Hinata asked worriedly. "Of course I did. If destroying the village meant taking your life, than I'd rather kill myself," said Naruto. "What about your friends?" she asked. "We're helping with repairing the village. I refused to do anything until I saw your eyes open again, though. Tsunade-baachan said I could stay with you for a week. Looks like you woke up before then," Naruto said and laughed a little.

Naruto got up from the chair beside Hinata's hospital bed. "Before I go, Hinata, what did you want to say to me?" Naruto asked. "I wanted to say something that I should've told you before you left Konoha," Hinata started. "Naruto-kun… I love you." Naruto smiled then kissed Hinata's lips. Then he said, "Tell me something I don't know."

(a/n: Yes! NARUTO'S BETRAYAL IS COMPLETE!!! Let's see… it's 12/15/06; the date when I finished this story. Yippee! Now to get back to work on my other fanfic… See ya later, hope ya enjoyed the story!)


	22. Muchas gracias

Hey, everyone! This is Anime-baka! Hisashiburi ne? Wow, I can't believe I created _Naruto's Betrayal _almost **six **years ago. Crazy. Time flies.

Man, this story is a complete _failure_ XD

Well, not complete. I'm surprised a lot of people actually like it. I'm even more surprised whenever I get e-mail notifications saying "So-and-so added you to their favorite authors/stories" list etc.

It amazes me!

When I wrote this story… well, let's just say I was young. Very young haha. FINALLY, finally after all these years I came back to look at it. Read the first few sentences of the first chapter and was like, "Wow. Just wow. WHAT WAS I THINKING?"

Let's just say that I've improved as a writer over the years. Will I polish up _NB_ and re-upload it? Tempting. Maybe over the summer ;D

Anyways, what I really wanted to say is… thank you. Thank you for all of your support and kind reviews! I'd also like to thank you guys for the critiques, comments, concerns, etc. They help! (And thanks for putting up with this stupid "rant" of mine lol XD)

I hope to be able to create more, better stories in the future ^_^

_Ja ne~_


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